The Ash Connection
by I am Lu
Summary: A string of violent attacks at the hands of a mysterious Pokémon has caught Lance and the G-Men off-guard. Little about the motive is clear, other than Ash Ketchum is somehow a factor. His friends and rivals now must confront an important question: Is he really the fabled Chosen One? Set during BW. Multiple ships, including Pokeshipping, Contestshipping, and Ikarishipping.
1. Prologue

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_Dedicated to the fans_

_Who have stuck with the series_

_From 1997 to 2013_

_This is for those_

_Who still believe in Ash_

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**Prologue**

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The violent quake from a nearby explosion demanded his attention, and he quickly and gracefully rose to his feet. Although his stature was unshaken by the loud disturbance, his expression was one of great concern, and he readied himself for battle. He clenched his hands and allowed a shadowy, dark energy to build up in his fists.

A second explosion. This one was quite literally upon his doorstep. A black cloud of smoke and debris billowed his way, but he remained standing, undaunted. A long, eerie silence followed. He looked on apprehensively, waiting for whatever would inevitably come his way. Just as the smoke began to dissipate, two rapidly spinning discs emerged from the fray. He launched his dark energy toward them with precise aim, destroying them both. The number of discs seemed to multiply, however, and suddenly there were five or six sets hurdling after him. He, again, destroyed them all with relative ease—save the last pair. He somehow missed that one, and he paid for it dearly: The discs latched onto his wrists and ankles, like shackles.

He was then brought to his knees with a quick, but potent shock of electricity. He endured the pain well and again tried to build dark energy in his fists. After failing to do so, he realized that the shackles had rendered his powers completely useless. He was now at the mercy of whoever his captor was. After a few long moments of his humiliating incarceration, a large group of humans moved in and surrounded him with some sort of weapon aimed directly at him, he supposed, in case he tried to escape (as if he could). His eyes narrowed, recognizing their uniform.

"Well, that was surprisingly easy," commented the leader as he strolled right up to him, his shoes scuffing the ground as he stopped directly in front of his nose. "Really, I expected more of a fight. It seems you've lost your touch in the years since I last saw you. I'll be sure to fix that."

"_You_."

"Ah, you seem to recognize me."

"It would be impossible for me to forget you, Giovanni. The question is, how do you remember me?"

"I think you underestimate the scientific prowess of my research team," Giovanni said. "Besides, there were records: hand-written journals, electronic data, research papers. I poured years and millions of dollars into you. Did you honestly think a simple wipe of my memory—however strong—would prevent, much less deter, me from finding you again?"

Silence.

The shackles tightened and another, more powerful jolt of electricity shook him. The pain was excruciating, so much so that his vision went fuzzy and left a loud ringing in his ears. The shock subsided and he gasped in a much-needed breath of air. He wanted to stand, but all energy had abandoned him. After sorting through the white noise buzzing in his mind, he weakly lifted his head and, without a trace of fear in his voice, asked with a sneer, "What do you want?"

Giovanni smirked and he opened his mouth to speak.

_"Ash..."_

Giovanni's voice faded and became blurry. The answer to the question was blotted out; the words became a mesh of low-toned noises strung loosely and carelessly together.

_"Ash..."_

The scene was achromatized, whittling down to a dim, gray pallet before his eyes, and then dissolved completely. The setting, the people, everything, faded into total oblivion. The clarity of these events was lost as a dark fog gathered around the memory, edging out the details.

_"Ash."_

And then...

_"Ash!"_

Reality.

Ash's eyes flew open and he sat up sharply, knocking Cilan in the head as he did so. The Pokémon Connoisseur staggered backward, his hand instinctively moving toward his forehead, the place which had been impacted. Iris, who along with Cilan had been hovering near Ash's bedside, jumped slightly upon the violent collision. After recovering from her mild shock, she grabbed Cilan's wrist and pulled it down to examine the damage on his head. Already, the connoisseur's fair skin was turning into a nasty purple color.

"Oh, look what you've done," Iris sighed, addressing Ash. "That's going to leave a mark—on both of you. Hold on, let me get some ice to help the swelling."

"I'm sorry, Cilan!" Ash exclaimed, gingerly rubbing his own bruising bump as Iris left.

"That's quite all right, Ash. I know you didn't mean it all," Cilan said politely, giving the boy a sheepish smile. "That must have been some dream you were having!" Ash's head perked up curiously.

"Dream?" he asked in confusion as Pikachu leapt onto his lap.

"Pika Pi!" exclaimed the mouse-like Pokémon in concern.

"I think a nightmare is more like it," Iris said as she re-entered the room with ice packs in hand. Both the afflicted trainers gratefully accepted the cooling agents and made good use of them. "You were tossing and turning in bed, and groaning so loudly that you woke both Cilan and I up. What were you dreaming about?"

Ash thought long and hard about that one. He desperately tried to recall the details of whatever happened in his dream, but flat-out could not. He closed his eyes and thought for a moment longer: He vaguely remembered having a conversation with someone, but who?

"Giovanni," Ash repeated quietly, though the name was absolutely meaningless to him. It sounded familiar, but he was pretty sure he had never met a Giovanni, unless it was a long, long time ago and he had just forgotten. He was never really great with names, anyway.

"What was that?" Iris asked. Ash shrugged.

"Y'know, I honestly can't remember." He suddenly grinned. "Maybe I hit the place in my brain where all my memories are kept when Cilan and I bumped heads, and that just knocked the dream right out of me!"

"Oh, that's quite impossible. You see, you hit the area associated with the prefrontal lobe, and the memory functions of the brain are located-" Cilan stopped himself from going further into his long-winded scientific explanation once he saw the death glare Iris was giving him. "Anyway, it's not important. Perhaps it's better you don't remember. From the way you were writhing around in your sleep, I'm sure it's something I wouldn't want to dwell on." He tilted his head. "I think the real question is, what prompted you to have such a horrible dream?"

Before Ash had a chance to answer, Iris leaned over the bed and felt his forehead.

"Well, you don't have a fever," she said. "Maybe it's from all the adrenaline you had tonight after you found out—what's her name?—Misty is visiting you in Pallet for the holidays. You were practically bouncing off the walls." Iris suddenly had a very sly, knowing expression painted on her face. Ash looked slightly confused at this, but smiled and patted Pikachu on the head.

"Yeah, Misty's an old pal of ours," he said. "It'll be good to see her and my mom for Christmas." Iris's face fell, and she sighed.

"Never mind," she droned, obviously let down. "You're such a kid." Ash opened his mouth to retort, but Cilan cut him off before he and Iris could start bickering.

"Well, if you're all right, then I suggest we should all try to get back to sleep," Cilan interjected. "Your flight leaves early tomorrow, and Iris and I have to set off for the Village of Dragons and Striaton City." Ash nodded, forgetting why he was even upset.

"Right," he agreed with a yawn. "Well, I'm sorry for waking you two up." Ash pulled the covers over himself again. "G'night."

"Good night," Iris replied, crawling back into her own bed.

"Pleasant dreams," Cilan said.

Ash didn't go to sleep right away, though. He stared at the ceiling for a long while, still thinking about the name. ... Something stirred in his memory: the sound of Giovanni's deep, resonant voice. Nevertheless, Ash couldn't for the life of him remember what they had talked about. The words had somehow slipped through his fingers like tiny grains of sand on the beach, impossible to relocate and pick out individually.

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_A/N: Expect an update with the first chapter tomorrow, and then weekly updates from then on. Reviews are, as always, appreciated._

_On another note, this story is based on the canon of the series up through Ash's early travels with Iris and Cilan in Unova. It then deviates from the regular storyline and is AU from the series at that point. That means Dawn has not come to eastern Unova yet, nor has Cynthia organized the Junior World Cup. The reason why these events were omitted is because this story is mostly pre-written, and was started way before Best Wishes 2 was announced. That said, I hope you still enjoy._

_Also, a major applause to my Beta-reader, Inkorporated, for her support and help with this story. I hope you'll enjoy reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it._

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	2. I: In Which Ash Returns Home

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**Part I: The Gathering**

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Chapter I: In Which Ash Returns Home

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**_December 16th, 2001. Late Morning. Olivine City._**

May Maple was_ not_ a morning person. If she could, she would lounge around in bed until noon, at which time she could get up and play with her Pokémon while enjoying a bite of lunch. But, alas, the life of a coordinator called for 9 a.m. contests and early morning training sessions, when the sun wasn't at its strongest and most lethal. It had been easier when she first started out on her journey, since she had Max or Ash to throw a pillow at her face when she didn't want to wake up. Not to mention, the smell of Brock's excellent cooking never failed to lure her out of her sleeping bag on colder mornings. Now that she was on her own, she had to be more self-disciplined.

Nevertheless, she decided the previous evening that her own early Christmas gift to herself would be letting herself sleep in late.

The light of the sun spilled into her room through the open shutters of the blinds and across her face. The young trainer's eyelids cracked open, and she sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She glanced at the digital clock on her nightstand and smiled. It was not terribly late in the day, yet she still had enjoyed the pleasures of a few extra hours of rest. A great gift to herself, indeed.

May rose from her bed and dug around her bag, pulling out a fresh new set of clothes. She quickly dressed herself, washed her face, brushed her teeth, and fixed her hair into a loose ponytail before heading downstairs.

Her rivals, Harley, Solidad, and Drew, were all sitting around a table in the lobby near the unlit fireplace. They all just happened to be there in Olivine City since they were looking to catch a boat back to Hoenn (or in Solidad's case, Kanto) to spend time with family for the holidays. Well, all with the exception of Drew; he explained a couple of days ago that he was staying in Johto for Christmas. Solidad didn't question this decision, and Harley didn't care enough to, but May couldn't help but be curious.

"How can you not want to go home to La Rousse?" she had asked. "That's your hometown isn't it?"

He flicked his hair. "Yeah, so?"

"Don't you want to see your family?"

"I'd rather not talk about it."

The look May received from Solidad after that told her to drop it, and she did. May worried about him, though. Drew rarely ever spoke about his family, or his childhood for that matter. He made it fairly clear long ago that the topic was off-limits. Every time they broached the subject, he would either cut her off with a new topic or somehow shut the conversation down. Nevertheless, May figured from the few times he ever _did_ mention his home life that his relationship with his father was, at best, strained. His mother didn't seem to be around since he never said anything about her, and May was pretty sure he didn't have any siblings.

Truthfully, May found his situation (as vague as it was to her) quite sad. To spend Christmas alone defied everything the holiday, in her mind, was about. She _had_ offered that he come along with her to Petalburg City with the insistence that her family wouldn't mind in the least bit. He declined, however, and left little room for further discussion. She wasn't ready to give up just yet, though.

May slid into the seat beside Drew and flashed him a winning smile. Drew raised his eyebrows and took a sip of his coffee, but he said nothing as he returned to his newspaper.

"Good morning," she greeted cheerfully, staring at him with a lazy half-lidded gaze as she rested her chin on her open palm.

"Morning," he replied. "You sure slept in." May shrugged.

"The boat doesn't leave 'till this afternoon, so I thought I would treat myself," she explained. "Anyway, how are you?" He didn't answer, his eyes giving her a once-over. May was always friendly (unless he gave her reason to act otherwise), but he could tell she wanted something. He suspected he knew what that thing was, and he heaved a sigh.

"Fine. Better than fine, actually," he answered. "Big news: They _finally_ settled the sponsorship debacle for the Johto Grand Festival."

May suddenly straightened up, a look of awe in her expression.

"_You're kidding_."

"No." He pushed the newspaper toward her, allowing her to see the front page headline. "They set a date for January 12th in Blackthorn City."

May let out a delighted laugh, clapping her hands together. The Johto Grand Festival was originally scheduled to be held months ago, but news came out several weeks before the opening ceremonies that a major (though unnamed) sponsor had backed out at the last moment. With little funding, the festival was put on hold indefinitely. The move had enraged many coordinators who were qualified for entry, since the delay would likely cut into the next coordinating season and put them at a disadvantage for earning five ribbons in time for another region's festival. They were right; as time dragged on and no second sponsor stepped up, many cut their losses and left the region. Even Drew had grown antsy and was considering doing the same, but Solidad had managed to talk him out of it.

"See? I told you they would figure it out," Solidad said with a smile.

"Yeah, took them long enough," Harley scoffed. "I think so many coordinators dropped out that there's going to be a lot less competition."

"Well, that's no fun," May frowned. "I like having competition."

"It means better chances of winning the whole enchilada, sugarplum," Harley reminded her. He paused and, in a sudden change of subject, asked, "Wait, no bandana?" May blinked.

"Nah, I decided I wanted something different this morning," she said, twirling a loose piece of her hair with a finger. She stopped and her expression deadpanned. "Why, does it look funny?"

"It's just different."

"Is different good?" She seemed legitimately concerned about this.

"May, stop panicking," Drew cut in dryly. "Personally, I like it. It's a good look for you." Solidad and Harley exchanged a furtive glance, and Harley wriggled his eyebrows slightly. Solidad couldn't resist a small laugh.

"Well, thank you," May said, her cheeks flushing pink. Drew rarely offered compliments (and they were even more rare when they pertained to her appearance), so when he did, she knew they were sincere... even if they were hidden under a layer of sarcasm.

"Anyway," Drew continued, "I think I'm just going to start off for Blackthorn this afternoon." May was suddenly reminded of her original purpose in talking to him that morning.

"But, Drew-" she began.

"-The answer is still no, May," he said, knowing exactly where the conversation was headed. May huffed.

"Why not?" she pouted. Drew set his coffee down and looked straight at her, his piercing green eyes causing her to shrink back.

"Look, May," he started, "I really do appreciate the offer. But I can't intrude."

"And what offer is this?" Solidad inquired suddenly. Drew pursed his lips, not wanting to answer. May, on the other hand, was all-too willing to jump in.

"I just thought since he isn't interested in going to La Rousse for Christmas and because he hasn't given a good reason for staying here versus going back to Hoenn that he should come home with me," she explained. She spoke so quickly that her words stumbled and melded together, but Solidad seemed to get the gist of it.

"That so?" the pink-haired coordinator asked.

"Yes," Drew cut in, sounding a little more irritated now that Solidad had been pulled into the discussion. "Thank you May, but really, I'm fine with staying in Johto and going to Blackthorn. I can train there."

"Well, I think you should go with May," Solidad said. Drew glowered at her, but said nothing. She smiled and continued, "What? You _don't_ have a good reason for staying here. You've already been training for months with the festival delay, and besides, you could always practice with May in Petalburg. If her parents are OK with it, then why not?"

"May hasn't even asked her parents," Drew grumbled as an excuse. May beamed and whipped out her PokéNav.

"Well, I can take care of that right now," she chirped.

"_May,_" he warned, but she hushed him. She had already dialed the number and it was ringing. Drew sunk in his chair. This always seemed to happen. He usually won the argument of the day when it was just him and May, but whenever Solidad decided to step in and take May's side, he was doomed. Caroline picked up, her face appearing on the tiny screen of the PokéNav.

"Hi Mom," May greeted with a smile.

"Well, hello dear!" Caroline said. "What prompted you to call at this time? I heard about the Johto Grand Festival's new date. You're still coming home to Petalburg, right?"

"Yes, of course," May replied. "I actually have a question."

"I have an answer."

"Well..." May grabbed Drew's arm with both hands and pulled him closer to her, so Caroline could see him through the PokéNav's screen. Drew's face heated up at the sudden closeness between him and his rival, and his blush was quite evident to his table companions. Harley was choking back laughter, and even Solidad looked like she had to suppress a chuckle. Drew shot them both a glare, while May was completely oblivious to the entire situation.

"... You remember Drew, right?" May continued. Caroline smiled knowingly.

"Of course," she replied.

"_May_," Drew hissed under his breath, but she ignored him.

"OK! So, he doesn't exactly have a place to go for Christmas," May explained. "Well, he does, but he doesn't want to go, and he won't tell me why, but that's besides the point. I think it's sad he doesn't have someone to spend Christmas with, so I was wondering if he could catch the boat to Hoenn with me this afternoon to spend Christmas with us!" May was rambling again, but Caroline, too, understood what her daughter was saying, and her smile widened.

"Why, of course he can! We'd be very glad to have you, Drew," she said.

"Actually-" Drew began, but May cut him off.

"All right, I'll see you in a couple days, m'kay? Thanks, love you, bye!" she said very quickly, ending the call as to not give Drew the chance to weasel his way out. She then stood and, with a triumphant smile, said, "Well, I'm going to go see if the cafeteria has any pancakes left." She then turned to Drew to address him. "You should probably pack; the boat leaves at 3 p.m. today." And with that, she left.

"Well, that was certainly amusing," Harley chimed in after May was gone. "Oh, look on the bright side, Drew. If you're lucky, maybe there'll be a mistletoe hanging around at the Maple household. It would be a perfect opportunity to kiss her and tell her how desperately in love with her you are."

"Shut up, Harley," Drew snapped. He wasn't in the mood for his obnoxious teasing.

"In all seriousness, it is a good opportunity to get to know May better outside of contests and battling," Solidad said.

"Not you, too, Solidad," Drew said, exasperated. Solidad shrugged.

"We're not blind," she stated simply. "It's fairly obvious you have feelings for May."

The young coordinator groaned and put his head down on the table.

"I'm going to go pack," he said, defeated.

**_December 16th, 2001. Late Afternoon. Pallet Town._**

"Look there, Pikachu! We're almost home!"

"Pika!"

Ash ran to the edge of the cliff and, gripping the slightly rusted railing, breathed in the fresh, rural air of the small town below. The plane ride had been long and uncomfortable, and the brief journey from the airport in Viridian City to Pallet Town had been boring and uneventful—especially since he had opted to take the straightforward commercial route rather than the longer, but more scenic trainer's path. None of that mattered, though, because now he was home. Feeling brave, he jumped over the railing and slid down the steep slope on his feet. Pikachu clung to his trainer's shoulder for dear life, and about halfway down, Ash completely lost his balance, tripped, and tumbled to the ground, hitting the bottom of the slope with a loud, painful 'thud.'

"Pika Pi!" cried Pikachu, who was unharmed by the fall, in concern. He nudged the boy's shoulder.

"I'm all right," Ash assured his partner with a forced grin. He sat up and dusted himself off, though he still remained caked in a thin veil of dirt.

"Wow, that was quite the landing," said a familiar voice from nearby. Ash looked up to see his old rival from Pallet approaching him.

"Gary!" Ash exclaimed. Gary smirked.

"Good to see you, Ashy-boy," he greeted, using Ash's old pet name.

"I didn't know you'd be in Pallet," Ash said as Gary helped him to his feet.

"Well, duh, I live here."

Ash smiled sheepishly and said, "It's just, last I saw you, you were doing research in Sinnoh." Gary shrugged.

"Like you, I decided to come home for the holidays. Besides, I needed a little R and R," he explained. "Anyway, everyone's been waiting for you back at your mom's house. She's so excited that you're visiting home, she probably won't even mind that you look like a dirty hobo." Ash's head perked up.

"Is Misty there yet?" he asked.

"Nah, it's just me, Tracey, Gramps, and your mom. Misty will be here in a couple of days, I'm sure," Gary replied.

"Great!" Ash exclaimed. "Man, I'm so pumped to see everybody, I can hardly wait!" He then took off running down the path into town. Gary blinked and looked after him incredulously.

"Hey, wait up!" Gary didn't have to run to catch up, though, because Ash tripped over a large pebble and made a face-plant in the middle of the road. Gary snickered. He supposed some things never changed. He strolled up beside Ash, deciding to not offer his help this time.

"How about you _not_ run home, because I don't want to be blamed when you show up looking like you've just been in a street fight." Gary paused. "Oh wait, too late."

"I could do without the snarky comments," Ash mumbled into the dirt.

"Please, Ash, you make it too easy."

Gary laughed as Ash staggered to his feet, and then they walked the rest of the way. The conversation lightened up significantly, and Gary stopped giving Ash grief for his two slip-ups. They spent the 10-minute commute catching up on each other's lives—describing new Pokémon they'd caught, new rivals, new friends, new adventures—and before they knew it, they were on the doorstep of the Ketchum residence. Before Ash could even reach for the doorknob, however, the door swung open, and Delia threw her arms around her son, practically crushing him.

"Oh, Ash!" she cried. "I'm so glad you're home!" She suddenly scowled, realizing he was covered in dirt. She let go of him. "What happened?" she asked, casting a wondering look at Gary, who shrugged in response.

"Even I can't save him from himself, Ms. Ketchum," Gary replied coolly.

"Hey Ash, good to see you're back!"

Ash grinned, recognizing the voice, and pushed his way inside. His old traveling companion, Tracey, was sitting next to Professor Oak on the sofa.

"Glad to be back, Tracey!" Ash replied.

"Ash, m'boy, why are you covered in dirt?" Professor Oak asked, after seeing the filthy state the trainer was in. Ash rubbed the back of his head, abashed.

"Heh. I had a bit of an accident on the way here," he said.

"Try two accidents," Gary added. Ash shot him a glare.

"Well, why don't you take a quick shower to rinse off and change clothes? You can leave the ones you're wearing in the laundry basket, and I'll wash them tonight," Delia suggested. She then lifted Pikachu off her son's shoulder and hugged him tightly. "Pikachu can help me finish dinner while you're getting ready."

"Cha!" Pikachu nuzzled her the mother's cheek affectionately.

"All right," Ash chuckled. He waved at his friends and trudged up the stairs, humming to himself as he did. As far as he was concerned, there was nothing that could possibly happen to ruin his happiness at that moment. He was home, his mother's cooking was on the stove, and Christmas was just around the corner.

Then he tripped up the stairs.

_**December 16th, 2001. Evening. Cerulean City.**_

"Misty! It's past 9:00 p.m., can you, like, lock up the gym?" Lily asked, suddenly appearing in the doorway of her younger sister's bedroom. Misty, who was comfortably situated on her bed with Azurill happily seated on her belly, appeared irritated upon this request. The redhead set the book she was reading down on her chest to speak more directly to her sister.

"You're perfectly capable of locking the doors yourself, Lily," she said.

"But, _Misty_," Lily began with the slightest twang of whine in her voice, "my nails are drying, and I _don't_ want to ruin them using those rusty old keys! Besides, if you don't, you'll have to be the one to turn away the one rookie trainer who decides to come in for a battle this late at night." Misty sighed. She knew then this was a lost argument. Being the only Waterflower who actually cared about the Cerulean Gym meant she had to do all the battling and maintenance. Being the youngest of the family also meant she was the one to get constantly pushed around.

"All right, fine," Misty replied in a huff. Lily smiled.

"Thanks, little sis'," she replied before running off. Misty sat up, grumbling irritably under her breath. She marked her page and set Azurill on top of her pillow, leaving the young Water-type with the promise that she would be back in a few minutes. The gym leader made her way down the stairs, passed the walkway to the large indoor pool on the first floor, and approached the entrance.

She opened the doors and peered outside just to make sure no one was waiting. She wasn't really in the mood for a battle, but if anyone really was hard-headed enough to come out that late (and, surprisingly, it had happened a few times), she didn't feel like turning him or her down. However, the entire area was empty, which Misty noted was fairly unusual. There was typically at least a passerby or two, even at this hour. The gym was located near the central hub of the city, so there were always people hanging around.

Misty shrugged it off. She supposed it was too cold for people to be out and about. There wasn't any snow by any means, but the air was chilly, and Misty shivered when a particularly frigid winter breeze blew by her.

The water trainer promptly shut the large doors, then reached to the left and grabbed the keys off the hook. She quickly and quietly locked the doors and made sure to turn off all the lights. She then wandered her way through the darkness, without running into anything. She had done this enough times to know where all the sharp corners and surprise tables were. She did, however, accidentally stumble over a Buizel that was lingering at the bottom of the stairs.

"Sorry!" Misty exclaimed, shooting the Sea Weasel Pokémon an apologetic smile. Buizel brushed it off, and Misty continued up the stairs and back to her room, where Azurill was still patiently sitting right where his trainer had left him. Misty smiled, picking the little Pokémon up and hugging him tightly.

"Thank you for waiting," she said.

"Azurill!"

Misty resumed her position on the bed, with Azurill happily settling himself in her lap. The trainer smiled again, petting the Pokémon's slick, rubbery skin. She couldn't wait to get away from Cerulean City for a couple of days to visit Pallet. She knew Christmas was meant to be spent with family, but she felt like she hadn't seen Ash for a really long time. Sure, they'd talked on the video phone many times while he was away in Sinnoh and Unova, but it wasn't the same as having him standing beside her, with that goofy grin plastered on his stupid face.

Besides, Daisy (the most tolerable of her sisters) mentioned she was thinking about coming along. Misty justified that as spending time with family, so she didn't have to feel bad about leaving behind Violet or Lily (both who, Misty thought, probably would not care whether their youngest sibling was home or not).

Misty chuckled when she saw Azurill had fallen asleep and then realized she was tired herself. It was early to be going to bed, but she figured the sooner she fell asleep, the sooner she could get up in the morning and leave for Pallet.

The gym leader reached over and turned the light on her nightstand off. She then pulled the covers up over herself and Azurill, and shifted around to make herself comfortable.

She barely had just closed her eyes when she heard an explosion.

_**December 16th, 2001. Evening. Pallet Town.**_

"Oh, Mimey, please let me help you unload the dishwasher," Ash said, noticing that the Pokémon was struggling to reach the shelves that were higher up in the kitchen. The Mr. Mime looked wary of the trainer as he took the plate out of his hand, placing it on the uppermost shelf, but he didn't otherwise protest.

"Why don't you take all the pots and utensils and other things that go in the lower cabinets, and I'll take the plates and cups and stuff that go into the shelves?" Ash suggested amicably.

"Mime!" the Barrier Pokémon seemed to agree. Thus, Ash and Mimey tag-teamed the dishwasher and had everything put away within a matter of minutes. Once they were finished, Ash grinned at the Mr. Mime, who seemed to smile back—even if just a little bit.

"Great job," encouraged the trainer. "Now, why don't you take a break for the rest of the night? You're always helping my mom keep the house up, and you deserve to rest." Mimey turned his nose up at him and, folding his arms, faced the other way.

"Mr. Mime!" he said indignantly. Ash sighed. He supposed Mimey still wasn't used to him, even after several years. The only person the Mr. Mime ever seemed to obey was Delia. Ash wasn't complaining, exactly. He really was grateful Mimey hung around the house. He kept his mom company while he was away on his journey, and Ash appreciated that. Although it was never discussed in the Ketchum household, Ash got the feeling his mother was often lonely, especially since his father wasn't around.

"Mimey, Ash is right," Delia said, entering the kitchen. "You deserve a break, especially after helping us prepare a big meal for Professor Oak and company!" Mimey was all-too willing to acquiesce once he gained her approval.

"Mime! Mr. Mime!" he exclaimed happily, taking off his apron. Delia took it from him, planning to wash it along with Ash's dirty clothes from earlier that day. Ash grinned and followed the Pokémon out into the living room, where Mimey met up with Pikachu. The two then seemed to engage in an excited chatter about something Ash couldn't fully understand. The boy settled himself on the sofa across from them, watching as they laughed together in Pokéspeak.

His father...

Ash had never met him. For the longest time, his mother had insisted it was because his father was off on a Pokémon journey of his own. At 10-years-old, it _seemed_ like a believable story. Almost five years later, he had figured out himself that it was probably something his mother made up to make him feel better about the fact his father had left them. It wasn't some great revelation that happened one day while he was traveling in Kanto or Hoenn or Sinnoh or wherever; it was just something he had, over time, come to realize and accept.

Well, he hadn't fully accepted it yet. There was still this childish part of him that wanted to believe his father was a fantastic trainer who was traversing across treacherous seas or through dangerous forests in search of new Pokémon. He wanted to believe that one day he would come home.

"Ash, dear?" Delia asked, sitting beside her son. Ash snapped out of his thoughts and smiled at his mom.

"Yeah?"

"Are you all right? You seem really distracted," Delia said, the concern evident in her voice. Ash waved his hand dismissively.

"I'm fine, don't worry about it," he said. "Just thinking."

"About what?" Ash mentally stumbled. He didn't really want to have this conversation. At least, not yet.

"I... uh..." Ash scrambled for something to say. " ... had this really weird dream a couple of nights ago. Before I left Unova and came here."

"What was it about?" Delia asked. Ash chuckled nervously.

"I can't... exactly remember. I only know it was weird 'cause Cilan and Iris had to wake me up, because I was tossing and turning in bed," Ash explained. Once he saw the trouble painted on his mother's face, he added, "Don't worry about it, though! It was 'prolly just something I ate that night. Cilan can cook up some pretty fancy stuff. Nothing as good as you, of course." Delia rolled her eyes but smiled.

"Well," she began, "I think I might know something that will cheer you up."

"What?"

"A Christmas Special." Delia paused before adding, "'The Delibird Who Stole Christmas,' maybe? That was your favorite when you were little."

"Ha! Yeah, I remember that one," Ash said. "OK, let's watch it." Delia stood and went to the small entertainment center. She bent on her knees and opened the cabinet, rummaging through it before pulling out the old VHS tape. She then turned on the television. The first channel was coincidentally the inter-regional news station reporting on a breaking story.

The Cerulean City Gym was on fire.

_**December 16th, 2001. Late Evening. Blackthorn City.**_

"You know, you really should visit more often," Clair remarked as she carefully poured her cousin and herself a glass of wine. "I rarely ever see you anymore, except when you have business here in Blackthorn. When we were kids, we used to be together every single day."

Lance's dark eyes flicked over to her. His expression was calm, calculating, though his lips curled upward as he reminisced on his youth, before he became one of the Indigo Elite Four and, later, the Champion. Such was a simpler time, though that, in retrospect, was hard to believe considering he and Clair spent most of it in rigorous training under his father (her uncle).

"You know I'm busy."

"And I'm not?" Clair jested as she handed him a glass.

"Of course you are," Lance said, gratefully accepting the drink, "just not as busy as I am. You run a gym; I run two regions."

Clair's eyebrows knitted together.

"Right... Well, now that you and Raoul finally got the Johto Grand Festival back on track, I hope you can at least stick around for the holidays?"

"As long as nothing else comes up." Lance said it jokingly, but those words ended up being his condemnation. The shrill ring of the telephone tore through the air, and Clair frowned, setting her glass down.

"I'll get it," she said, presuming it was one of the several aspiring Dragon Masters she had taken under her wing. She stood up and headed into the other room, grabbing the wireless phone off its hook.

"Hello? This is gym leader Clair speaking," the blunette answered, sounding a little irked. She was silent for a few moments, listening to the plight of the caller, when Lance saw her expression noticeably harden.

"Mew..." she swore, dropping the phone to her side. "It's Officer Jenny of Cerulean City, for you. The local gym there caught on fire."

"_What_?" Lance stood and quickly took the phone from Clair. "Hello? This is Lance. Are the Waterflower sisters OK?"

Clair, meanwhile, snatched the remote off the mahogany coffee table, turning on the flat-screen television on the wall. She then flipped through the channels and found the news station, which was, as she expected, reporting on the Cerulean crisis. The flames had already been put out, though only a charred shell of the building remained. Lance joined her after ending the call.

"Are they all right?" Clair asked, turning her head toward him. "The Waterflowers?"

"Yes," Lance answered shortly as he dialed another number. "Do you know them?"

"I met the youngest, the redheaded one, several years ago. She was a traveling companion of a boy named Ash. He challenged me for the Rising Badge and won."

"You have a strikingly good memory."

"I always remember the people I lose to."

Lance raised his eyebrows, but he didn't have time to respond as the person on the other side of the line picked up.

"Leaf? I'm sorry if I woke you. I realize it's late, but I need you to get down to the gym in Cerulean City as soon as possible." A pause. "Have you seen the news? ... I'm in Johto right now, with Clair. All right. Call me when you get there. Thank you."

Clair spoke up again as soon as he ended the call, "So, Ms. Greene is your go-to agent now?"

"She has her purpose," Lance explained without any further elaboration.

"Ah," she mused. "So why are you sending her to Cerulean City?" The Champion shrugged.

"G-Men protocol," he said. "We need to check out the scene to make sure nothing criminal happened."

"Criminal?"

"Something similar to this occurred several years ago, back in 1997," Lance clarified. "A few low-level Team Rocket grunts set off a bomb in the Celadon Gym, which caused the place to go up in flames."

Clair's eyes widened. "You think Team Rocket is behind this?"

"Doubtful," Lance droned. "The organization's been inactive for years now. My guess is what happened at the Cerulean Gym is just an unfortunate accident."

Clair sat back down before retrieving her glass of wine and taking a sip.

"Let's hope so."

_**December 16th, 2001. Late Evening. Cerulean City.**_

Misty's head was spinning. Everything had happened so fast, too fast.

The explosion, or whatever it was (none of the Waterflower sisters knew where it came from or why it happened), in one way or another caused something to spark, which ended with the roof catching fire. And, though they lived in a gym full of Water-type Pokémon, the flames quickly grew to the point where they were too overwhelming for the family to handle. Luckily, the Cerulean Fire Department arrived to douse the inferno.

All thirty-six Pokémon in the gym were transported to the local Pokémon Center to be checked out, while Lily, Violet, and Daisy went to the hospital for similar reasons. The medical technician had insisted Misty go with her sisters, but the redhead was adamant about making sure the Pokémon were OK first. The technician was about to argue further, but after a moment's delay, he scratched his head and said, "Spoken like a true gym leader." He then let her go.

So, that was what brought her here, sitting in a video phone booth in the empty Cerulean Pokémon Center lobby, talking to her eldest sister Daisy while awaiting news from Nurse Joy. Misty's sisters, Daisy told her, were all apparently well, but Violet and Lily were shaken up quite a bit (and by "shaken up," Daisy meant bawling. Misty could hear them in the background).

"I think they're going to release us soon, so I'll go down there to wait and you can come here to get checked out," Daisy said, but Misty shook her head.

"No, I want to make sure all the Pokémon are healthy first," she insisted. "Besides, I'm fine. I'm still breathing, aren't I?" Daisy sighed.

"You're too stubborn for your own good," the blonde moaned through the video screen. "You'll never get a boyfriend with that attitude." A low growl rumbled in Misty's throat.

"Really? _Now_?" she asked, irritated.

"Right, bad timing," Daisy apologized. "Well, I'm coming down there anyway. I'll see you as soon as I can." She hung up after that. Misty sighed and put the phone back on the hook. She stood slowly and seated herself back in the waiting area. She didn't have much time to get comfortable though, as Nurse Joy came through the double doors, still in the process of removing her rubber gloves. Misty immediately rose to her feet again and quickly approached her.

"How are they doing?" she asked, the worry obvious in her voice. Nurse Joy smiled.

"All are well," she assured. "A few are a bit sick from smoke inhalation, but they will all be fine. No burns, either, from what I could find. You are all very lucky to have thirty-plus Pokémon escape from a burning building unharmed..." Misty nodded.

"Yes, we are very lucky," the gym leader agreed.

"Do you know what caused the fire?" Nurse Joy asked out of curiosity. Misty shook her head.

"No idea," she said. "Something blew up, maybe an old water heater. That's just my guess, though. I really don't care. I'm just glad everyone's all right."

"What about the status of the gym?"

"Unusable, at this point, I'm sure," Misty replied. "But, the fire department nearly had it put out when we were leaving."

"Well, I hope that you have the best case scenario, and it's able to be repaired, despite fire damage," Nurse Joy said. "It's such a shame, it really was a lovely building. The shining gem of Cerulean City. And right before Christmas, too."

Misty nodded, again, though she now looked a bit more solemn. She was sure the kind woman had no intention of doing so, but this discussion was making her ache in the side. The Cerulean Gym was her family's pride and joy, for slightly different reasons, depending on which family member with whom you spoke. For Misty, it was about the tough opponents she met during gym matches, while for her older siblings, it was the amazing water shows and plays they put on as the Sensational Sisters. Nevertheless, it was one of the more popular and well-known league-official gyms throughout all the regions. But above all else, it was their home.

"I need to make a few calls," Misty said, cutting the conversation short. Nurse Joy smiled understandingly and left to attend to the other Pokémon in the center. Misty returned to the video phone booth and dialed a number. The phone didn't ring long before it was picked up.

"Tracey!" Misty exclaimed with a smile when the assistant to Professor Oak answered.

"Goodness, Misty," he began, "it's such a relief to see you. We all heard what happened at the gym." Misty looked puzzled upon this statement.

"What? How?" she asked, craning an eyebrow.

"It was on the news."

"Oh..." That made sense, she supposed. She hadn't been cognizant enough to see that there were news vans at the scene when she left, but she remembered how the burning of the Celadon City Gym a few years back made national headlines.

"Is everyone OK? Is Daisy all right?" he asked with special concern in his voice. Misty resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She was well aware of (and terrified by) the fact that Tracey had taken an interest in her older sister. They'd gone out on multiple dates since Daisy first promised him he could take her to dinner after he helped clean and fix the pipe system in the Cerulean Gym. Nothing serious had come of the relationship yet, and somehow, Misty doubted anything ever would. Daisy had never been serious about anyone. Although, Misty had to admit, she was pretty sure the reason why Daisy had insisted she go to Pallet for Christmas was to see Tracey.

"Yes, everyone's fine," Misty replied. "Daisy's on her way here."

"Good to hear," Tracey said with a relaxed smile. "Anyway, I presume you're looking to speak to Professor Oak?"

"Yes."

"Gramps is asleep," said an all-too familiar voice from off-screen. "Let me talk to her." Tracey then handed the phone to none other than Gary Oak.

"Good to see you're not burnt to a crisp," Gary greeted.

"Thanks, I appreciate that," Misty replied sarcastically.

"In all seriousness, glad you and everyone else are doing well," Gary said, suddenly sounding a little more sincere. "All right, you don't even have to tell me what you want. I can guess: You want to transfer you and your sisters' Pokémon to the lab, right?"

"You nailed it," Misty replied, unsurprised. "Just until we get the gym repaired, of course. Or until we build a new one, if the current one's beyond repair."

"Well, I know how to work the lab transfer system, so just send 'em on over here once you're ready," Gary said. "How many?"

"Thirty-six." She paused before adding, "But I'll be keeping one or two with me, for when I make the trip to Pallet."

"You're still coming?"

"I need to get away more than ever."

"All right, I get it. See you in a couple of days, then." He looked like he was about to hang up, but Misty stopped him.

"Wait, before you go..." Misty began.

"Yeah?"

"Can you call Ash and let him know I'm all right? And that I still plan on coming for Christmas?" Misty asked. "I would myself, but now I've got to get three dozen Pokémon whom I imagine are very unhappy right now into their Pokéballs and through a transferring machine."

"I pass that duty on to you, Tracey," Gary said with a wave of his hand. He disappeared off the screen and Tracey took his place.

"Yes, I will let him know," Tracey replied with a sigh after Gary was out of earshot.

"Thank you," Misty said.

"It's not a problem," Tracey said. "Take care."

The conversation ended there. The screen went black, but Misty still clutched onto the phone. Her eyes glazed over, and she stood there for a moment in a sort of stunned silence, as the reality of her situation really began to sink in.

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	3. II: In Which Lance Pays a Visit

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Chapter II: In Which Lance Pays a Visit

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_**December 19th, 2001. Early Morning. Cerulean City.**_

It had been years since she was last here. Back when her Pokémon journey first began—back when she was still interested in the Pokémon League Challenge—the Cerulean City Gym had been her second gym match. The win was pathetically easy since her starter, Bulbasaur, had a type advantage. Although, truly, she had expected there to at least be some challenge in it. Daisy practically rolled over and surrendered after the first move. However, she'd heard the youngest Waterflower had since taken up the position of gym leader and proven herself to be a far more competent battler than any of her older sisters.

Leaf strode toward the gym (or rather, what was left of it) with her hands tucked into the warm pockets of her gray double-breasted coat. She was dressed professionally—sheer black pantyhose and heels included—and her ash brown hair was neatly pulled back. At the ripe old age of 15, she had to dress older than she looked whenever she was out doing investigative work by herself. Otherwise, no one would take her seriously. A girl as young as she, in the G-Men? Pah! Ridiculous.

Several officers from the Cerulean Police Department were guarding the building behind yellow caution tape when she arrived. Leaf easily slipped under the tape, but she was quickly stopped by a male officer who was at least twice her height.

"Hold up, miss. This area is restricted," he said. Before Leaf had a chance to reply, the nearby Cerulean Officer Jenny intervened.

"It's OK," she assured the man before turning to Leaf. "You're Agent Greene right? Lance said you would be coming."

"Yes," Leaf nodded.

"Great, so what can we do for you?" Jenny asked amicably, leading her away.

"I just need a key to the gym," Leaf replied, noting the heavy metal chains that had been locked around the charred double doors at the entrance. They were probably there to keep any mischievous teenagers from wreaking further havoc upon the place.

"The structure of the building is currently too dangerous for anyone to be inside."

"So, I'm guessing that means you have no idea what started the fire?" Leaf asked, folding her arms. Jenny was put-off by the young agent's accusatory statement, but didn't let it show.

"We've talked to all four of the Waterflower sisters, and all reported hearing an 'explosion.' The popular theory right now is that the water heater in the attic overheated and exploded, which sparked some electrical wiring in the roof and caused the place to go up in flames," the officer explained. "A clean-up crew is scheduled to come in this afternoon. We'll hopefully know more after that."

"Right... I still want in," Leaf persisted.

"But-"

"-I'll be fine."

Jenny hesitated one last time, but she finally turned over the key. Leaf thanked her and approached the gym doors, sticking the key into the large padlock and turning it. The chains dropped, and she let herself in.

Leaf's nose wrinkled upon entering the building. The air still smelled thick with smoke and was musty; she knew she wouldn't be able to stay long, lest she fall ill from the fumes. Luckily, she already knew where she was headed: the attic. All she had to do was find the stairs, which weren't terribly difficult to come by. She passed the large archway leading to the indoor pool, which now appeared to be full of a dark gray sludge from all the ash and fallen debris, and found them at the end of the hallway.

Much to her disappointment, they only led up as far as the second floor, meaning she would need to either find an entry on the ceiling or get up to the attic by other means. She passed over a fallen wall into what used to be a bedroom; most of the furniture had either burned or melted from the extreme heat. A gush of early morning sunlight poured in through a jagged hole in the ceiling, which piqued Leaf's interest in more ways than one.

She approached the opening cautiously, but heard something crack under her heel. She glanced down and found that she'd accidentally stepped on the glass of a picture frame that had somehow miraculously survived the fire. She bent down and picked it up, brushing away the ash. The picture depicted three people—a dark-skinned teen, a tomboyish redheaded girl, and a brown-eyed boy—all whom, Leaf realized with a jolt, she recognized. The first was Brock Harrison, who awarded her with the Bolder Badge after their battle at the Pewter City Gym. The girl... the red hair gave away that it was the the youngest of the Waterflower family, Misty.

Leaf looked up for a brief moment and surveyed her surroundings. 'So this must have been her room,' she thought.

The last was a boy she had not seen in years, but she could recognize that lopsided grin anywhere. Ash Ketchum. They, along with Gary Oak, had grown up together in their early childhood in Pallet Town. They used to be the best of friends, but they drifted apart after...

Leaf removed the photograph from the frame and carefully slipped it into her coat pocket. She needed to remain focused on the current task. Shielding her eyes, she stepped into the light and looked up. As she suspected, she could get into the attic from here. Leaf temporarily left the bedroom to seek after a chair that hadn't been destroyed by the flames. She located one and, after bringing it back, removed her heels, stood on the chair, and hoisted herself up.

Her hosiery tore on the climb, and she mumbled to herself in annoyance. There went $7.00 right there.

Leaf pulled a small flashlight out of her purse and flicked it on to illuminate the dark crevices that the sunlight failed to reach. All that was left for her to do was confirm the fire was nothing more than an accident so the G-Men could put this case to rest. She just needed to find the destroyed water heater, which, judging by the large hole above Misty's bedroom, wouldn't be too far away.

Except, it wasn't close by at all. In fact, she couldn't find anything combustible in the nearby vicinity, aside from some damaged copper wiring in the wall. Puzzled, Leaf turned back toward the break in the ceiling. What could have possibly caused it? She approached the opening carefully, hearing the old, burned wood creak under her feet and praying it wouldn't break.

She felt the uneven, stony edge of the hole with her hand, and looked down outside. Quite the fall. She backed off, but once her hand left the wall, a purplish, ghastly residue evaporated off of her hands. Leaf look struck and she leapt back down into Misty's bedroom. She then pulled out her PokéNav and dialed a number.

"Lance, you're not going to like what I found."

_**December 19th, 2001. Noon. Pallet Town.**_

Ash finagled with the rusty knob to turn on the hose, but it seemed to be stuck. He gritted his teeth and, now using two hands, put his full effort in getting the darn thing to move. Still, it refused to budge.

"You need to turn it the _other_ way," Gary said suddenly from behind Ash, which caught the boy off guard and caused him to jump. "Haven't you heard the phrase: Righty-tighty, lefty-loosey?"

"Geez, Gary, don't sneak up on me like that," Ash said defensively, turning his head to look at his old rival. He begrudgingly switched directions with the knob and found that it turned with much greater ease. Pikachu, who was lingering next to the head of the hose, leapt in surprise when a spurt of water burst from it. Ash pursed his lips, mentally preparing himself for the load of mocking he was about to receive.

"How do your traveling partners put up with you?" Gary asked, craning an eyebrow.

Ash breathed a sigh. That was relatively tame for Gary.

"I dunno," Ash replied, grabbing the hose. "Why don't you ask Tracey, or Misty when she gets here?" He aimed the hose at the nearby Starmie, spraying it down. The Starmie seemed to enjoy this (Ash couldn't be sure; it didn't really have a face after all), and it shook the water off after the trainer lowered the hose. Pikachu approached and happily drank from the stream of running water once Ash finished with it. The boy grinned.

They were hanging out at Professor Oak's lab. Ash and Pikachu had visited the past several mornings to help care for the large influx of water Pokémon from the Cerulean Gym. It had been difficult work, for a lot of the Pokémon were uncomfortable in the new environment, especially since many of them had spent their entire lives at the gym. Some of the Pokémon Misty had taken with her on their travels a couple of years ago seemed to recognize Ash, however, and responded well to him. It also helped that Pikachu had a way of talking the more non-compliant Pokémon into cooperating.

"Yeah, speaking of Misty," Gary began, folding his arms, "where is she? The trip from Cerulean to Pallet is only two days on foot if you take the commercial road. She should've been here by now."

"Yes, well," Tracey said, injecting himself into the conversation as he approached the two trainers, "Daisy said she was coming with Misty, and Daisy isn't as accustomed to traveling as Misty is..."

"Oh, _Daisy's_ coming," Gary said, rolling his eyes and smirking. "So, Tracey, are you finally going to ask her to be your girlfriend? Arceus knows you need one." Tracey's face turned beet red, but he said nothing. Ash tilted his head slightly to the left, confused.

"Wait? Daisy and Tracey?" he asked.

"Where have you been?" Gary said sarcastically. "Yes, Daisy and Tracey. He's only been in love with her for like two years." Ash grinned.

"Hey, that's great!" he exclaimed, beaming at Tracey. "It's always cool to have a good friend." This comment prompted blank stares from both Gary and Tracey. Even Pikachu seemed to sigh. Ash knitted his eyebrows together.

"What?" he asked. Gary shook his head.

"Boy, Misty must have a lot of fun dealing with you," he grumbled.

"Ha! You bet I do," said a familiar female voice from behind the trio of young men. The three turned to see a certain redhead leaning over the wooden fence with a smirk plastered on her face. Daisy stood nearby, carrying Azurill.

"Misty!" Ash cried happily. He ran up to her and, leaping over the fence, crushed her with a hug. Misty's face flushed red as his arms tightened around her.

"H-hey, can't breathe!" she stammered, her voice slightly strained. Ash sheepishly let go of her, though his hand remained firmly settled on her shoulder.

"Sorry," he apologized with a grin. "It's just so good to see you. And man, I'm so glad you're OK! You have no idea how scared I was when I saw that news report..." Misty's smile diminished, just the slightest bit.

"Yeah..." she said, her voice trailing off. It was a subject that she preferred not to think or talk about. While it was true she had been looking forward to getting away from the gym and visiting Pallet for the holidays, the idea that she didn't have a home to go to afterward depressed her. Nevertheless, she still planned to enjoy her time in the small town to the fullest extent possible, and more importantly, to enjoy her time with Ash before he inevitably returned to Unova.

"Do you guys know what started the fire yet?" Tracey asked.

"No idea," Daisy replied, brushing a light, blonde curl out of her eye after setting Azurill on the ground. The Polka Dot Pokémon immediately wandered over to his trainer.

"We talked to Lily and Violet over the phone this morning in Virdian City. They said someone from this investigative organization was looking further into it and interviewed them," Misty said as she picked the small Azurill up and cradled him in her arms.

"What organization?" Ash asked, his head perking up.

"They didn't say," Misty replied with a shrug.

"Ugh, all this talk about the gym is such a damper on my mood," Daisy said, waving her hand. "Besides, my feet hurt, and I could use a glass of water. Let's head inside." An irritated look crossed Misty's face upon her sister's brash proposition. She was about to remind her elder sister that it was rude to invite herself into other people's homes, but Tracey spoke first.

"Yes, of course," he said with a kind smile. He opened the gate so they could more easily come through without having to climb over the fence. Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder when he approached.

"Oh, please, let me get that for you, Daisy," Tracey offered politely, reaching for the bag that she was carrying. Daisy smiled at him flirtatiously.

"Aw, Tracey, you're the sweetest," she said. "Thank you." Misty and Gary looked at each other, sharing a moment of silent pain together, while Ash lingered behind, befuddlement painted on his face.

_**December 19th, 2001. Afternoon. Twinleaf Town.**_

"Come on, Dee Dee! Hurry _up_!" Kenny shouted loud enough for his fellow coordinator to hear him. The boy was sitting beside Barry on the sofa in Dawn's house, waiting for the girl to finish getting ready in her upstairs bathroom.

"Just a minute!" Dawn replied, her voice slightly muffled by the distance. Kenny slumped down, folding his arms.

"Translate: five minutes," he grumbled to himself.

"Yeah, I swear, she's been up there for like a half-hour!" Barry added. "If she doesn't get down here soon, I'm gonna fine her big time! Why do girls take so long to get ready, anyway?"

"_Because_," Dawn began, appearing at the bottom of the stairs with Piplup in her arms, "girls actually _care_ about their appearance. Besides, do you know how long it takes to blow dry your hair and pick out a cute outfit?"

"Lup!" Piplup exclaimed, defending his trainer.

"I'm gonna take a stab and guess two hours," Kenny said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He then paused and, after giving her a once-over, added with a grin, "Although, you _do_ look pretty cute, Dee Dee. Trying to impress someone? Barry, maybe? You _know_ that isn't going to work on him, right?" The girl rolled her eyes and, with a flick of her head, tossed her long, dark blue ponytail over her shoulder.

"Ha ha, very funny Kenny," she said. "You know you two are just friends." Kenny's eyelids drooped the slightest bit.

"Yeah," he replied, the enthusiasm in his voice having obviously lessened. Barry cast him a sympathetic glance; it didn't take a genius (and Barry knew that he certainly was no genius) to figure out that Kenny harbored feelings for the doe-eyed girl. The blonde's suspicions had only been confirmed several days earlier, when Kenny had confided in him. It put Barry into a tough spot as he was both of their friends, and he didn't like it.

"Anyway, let's get going!" Dawn continued with an excited smile, oblivious to Kenny's sulking. "I'm starving!" Barry jumped to his feet, glad that the mood had shifted.

"Right! You took so long that now I can hardly wait to grab some food!" he said, pumping his arms. This prompted a second roll of the eyes from Dawn, but the small group nevertheless ventured outside and grabbed ahold of their respective bikes leaning up against the white picket fence.

"All right Kenny, you're the one who wants to show us this new restaurant in Sandgem Town, so lead the way!" Dawn said as she mounted her bike, placing Piplup in the front basket.

"You got it!" Kenny replied, taking off. Barry and Dawn followed closely behind.

The three trainers had all taken a break from their various travels and reconvened in their hometown for the holidays. While much of their time was spent with their individual families, they still had managed to get together nearly every day since arriving. And they had actually had a lot of fun together: They'd been out bowling, shopping (well, that had been more fun for Dawn; Kenny and Barry had dragged their feet during the event), and even made time for a little training and leisure battling on the side.

"Hey, slow down!" Barry said as Dawn and Kenny pedaled ahead of him.

"Just because _you_ can't keep up-" Kenny began with a smirk. Kenny's words faded into the background of Dawn's mind when she caught sight of a familiar flash of red hair and a Glameow traveling on foot alongside the road, just up ahead.

"Guys, slow down!" Dawn cried.

"That's what I said!" Barry pouted. Dawn skidded to a halt on the rocky path and Kenny and Barry followed suit. The girl whom Dawn had stopped to see turned her head and smiled.

"Well, hey there, Dawn," Zoey said with a friendly salute-like gesture. "I was wondering if I would run into you around here." Dawn set up the kickstand on her bike as she got off to approach her friend and rival.

"It's so good to see you!" she exclaimed happily. "But, what are you doing in Twinleaf?"

"Eh, it's just a stop on my way to Snowpoint. I'm planning to meet up with Ms. Senior," Zoey replied with a shrug.

"I see," Dawn mused. "Oh! How rude of me, I should introduce you guys! Zoey, this is Barry, and you remember Kenny, right?"

"Nice to meet'cha," Barry said with a wave.

"It's nice to see you again," Kenny added with a friendly smile.

"Same," Zoey said. "I haven't seen you since the Grand Festival." Kenny suddenly looked a little embarrassed.

"Eh heh, yeah... Not my best performance," he said, rubbing the back of his head. Zoey waved her hand dismissively.

"Anyway, I presume you're all friends?" she asked.

"Yup! We all live in Twinleaf," Dawn said. "We were just on our way to Sandgem to try out this restaurant Kenny claims is really good."

"Spectacular," Kenny clarified. Dawn ignored him and went on:

"You know, you should come with us!"

"I'd love to, but I really need to get to Jubilife City before nightfall," Zoey confessed. "I wanted to stay in Twinleaf tonight, but the motel is full, and I don't want to wind up stranded in Bewilder Forest after sunset." There was a hum of understanding among the group.

"Yeah, that wouldn't be a good idea, with all the Stantler that live there," Barry agreed, folding his arms and nodding his head. He nearly toppled over after letting go of the handlebars, which prompted a snicker from Kenny. Dawn paid little attention to them, however, as she wallowed in how disappointing it was that Zoey wouldn't be able to stick around for much longer. Competing in Hoenn was fun, but it felt a little alien without her usual rivals around to liven things up. Then, an idea struck her.

"Well, why don't you stay with me for tonight?" she suggested. Zoey seemed a little surprised by this offer.

"Oh, Dawn, it's thoughtful of you, but-" she began before she was cut off.

"-But nothing. Seriously, it's not a big deal. You can stay with me in my bedroom. I know my mom won't mind at all," Dawn persisted, a smile spreading across her face. "My friend Leona used to sleepover all the time before her family left town." Zoey chuckled. She'd already conceded to the fact that Dawn was simply going to get her way on this matter.

"Well, if you insist, then all right," she said. "But, I don't have a bike to keep up with you guys."

"That's cool, you can just ride on my handlebars," Kenny offered, tuning back into the conversation. "I won't go crazy, I promise." Zoey looked a little wary, unsure of whether she should trust him or not. She didn't know him that well, and there was no telling if he would pull a stupid stunt that would cause her to be thrown off. He was a teenage boy after all, and therefore prone to doing idiotic things. She looked to Dawn for her opinion.

"I'd take that promise with a grain of salt, if I were you," Dawn said in a half-whisper, though she was just loud enough for Kenny to hear her, too.

"Hey! I resent that," he said, aiming a glare at Dawn. He then returned his attention to Zoey. "No, I swear! I'll be really careful. In fact, if you fall off, I'll pay for your lunch." Barry grinned at the redhead.

"That's a pretty good deal," he said. Zoey smirked.

"All right then," she gave in. Zoey returned Glameow to her Pokéball and stored it in her bag. She then, though still a bit hesitant, approached Kenny and lifted herself onto the handlebars.

"You secure?" Kenny asked after a moment.

"Think so," Zoey replied. She seemed very uneasy, but Kenny reassured her with a friendly grin. Dawn climbed back on to her bike, giving Piplup an affectionate pat on the head as she did.

"Come on, come on! Let's get going!" Barry exclaimed once everything was back in order. "Seriously, I'm _dying_ of hunger now!"

**_December 19th, 2001. Late Afternoon. Petalburg City._**

"Well, this is it!" May announced happily, throwing her arms up in the air as if preparing for a grand presentation. "Petalburg City!" She and Drew were standing in the middle of the road at the mouth of the town. Drew looked upon his rival's antics with amusement, though he was, as usual, keeping his distance. His hands were stuffed into his pockets, and he was turned slightly away from her.

They had arrived in Hoenn by boat yesterday afternoon, there from which the two young coordinators parted from Harley. Although Slateport was his hometown, he was apparently off to Sootopolis City to visit family. Thus, May and Drew set off for Petalburg alone—which wasn't a big deal; both had done their fair share of traveling without "adult supervision." Drew, in fact, never traveled with anyone, save maybe a couple of instances in which he just happened to be going the same way as someone else. May had actually been more worried about whether she and her rival, with whom she had a nasty tendency to bicker, would get along well on the journey. Surprisingly, both had been fairly civil to each other.

"So, what do you think?" May asked as they casually walked side-by-side through the city, past the various small businesses and neighborhoods.

"It's very... quaint," Drew replied thoughtfully. May looked at him curiously.

"Quaint?" she inquired.

"That's not necessarily a bad thing," he shrugged. May didn't reply; instead, she grabbed the sleeve of his jacket and pointed ahead.

"Look! There it is," she said, letting out a delighted laugh. "The Petalburg Gym!" Drew raised his eyebrows slightly, though the edge of his lips tugged upward.

"Right, I forgot you were a gym leader's kid," he said.

"Come on, I'll introduce you," May said with a big smile. She pulled him along, up the stony stairs and onto the front porch. Norman's gym assistant, Kenny—Ken, as he now preferred to be called—was sweeping.

"Ken!" May exclaimed, sounding slightly surprised. "I didn't expect you'd be here."

"Hi, May," he said shyly. "Well, your dad has still been accepting gym challenges even with Christmas approaching, so I've still been working." Ken lifted his head slightly, turning his attention to Drew. "Is this your boyfriend?" he asked. Drew blinked and realized how he and May must have looked then. They were standing close to each other, and she was still hanging onto his sleeve. He gently shook her off. He didn't want May's parents to get the wrong impression if they just happened to show up at that particular moment.

"Oh, no," May replied, letting out a nervous laugh. "He's just a good friend of mine. We both compete in contests."

"I see," Ken said. "Well, your parents have been waiting for you all day, and they're really excited to see you." May nodded and thanked him. She then led Drew inside.

As soon as May stepped onto the wooden floor, she was nearly tackled down by her younger brother, Max. May's Pokémon, Skitty and Munchlax, excitedly followed to see their trainer.

"Nya!" Skitty cried leaping into her arms and curling up against her.

"Munch! Munchlax!" exclaimed the other, clinging onto her leg.

"I'm so happy you're here!" Max said, grinning up at May while also petting her Skitty on the head.

"Me too," May said. "And you're getting so tall! What, you probably only have eight or nine inches to go before you catch up to me!" Max pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Just you wait, you've only got a couple of years left before you stop growing, and then I'll surpass you," he declared. "Girls stop at 16, boys stop at 21."

"Right, right," May said, waving her hand dismissively.

"Oh May, it's so good to have you home," Caroline greeted, entering the front room with Norman beside her.

"Mom!" May exclaimed, giving her a hug. She also looked at her father sweetly. "Dad," she regarded cheerfully.

"Hello, sweetheart," Norman replied. He then turned his head toward Drew, giving him a welcoming smile. "And you must be Drew Hayden. May's told me all about you. It's nice to meet you." He stuck out his hand.

"Thank you for letting me stay here, Mr. Maple," Drew replied politely, shaking his hand.

"Please, call me Norman," May's father replied.

"And you may also call me Caroline. It's our pleasure to have you, Drew," Caroline said with a kind smile. "We hope you enjoy your time here." May beamed at her rival, happy that the meeting seemed to be going well. Drew noticed her elated expression, but remained stoic-faced, unsure of how to react. Max's eyes suddenly widened, as if he'd just remembered something.

"Oh, May, you haven't had the chance to see the news the past few days, have you?" he asked. May looked at him strangely, craning an eyebrow.

"No ... ?" May replied tentatively, unsure of what he was getting at.

"Yeah, it's crazy!" Max began. "You remember Misty—you know, the gym leader from Kanto that Ash used to travel with?" May nodded. "Well, her gym in Cerulean City burned down the other day!"

"_What_?" May asked incredulously, fear running across her eyes. Drew perked up in alarm, casting her a concerned glance.

"She's OK though," Max added quickly. May breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

"Geez, why didn't you tell me that in the first place? You scared me so much!" she said. Max shrugged his shoulders sheepishly.

"Sorry," he apologized. May brushed a finger up against her chin in thought.

"I suppose I should call her to check up on her," she said. "I think I have her number stored in my PokéNav—ugh, but that won't do any good if the gym phone's destroyed..."

"Well, you can worry about getting in contact with with your friend later. For now, why don't you show Drew to the guest bedroom?" Caroline suggested. "While you two are up there, I'll prepare a light snack before dinner. You must be starving after all the traveling you did today!" May snapped out of her thoughts.

"Hm? Oh yes, sorry," she said, though still slightly distracted. She then turned to Drew, tentatively touching his wrist. There was a curious flash in his green eyes upon the contact.

"Here, it's just up the stairs," May continued. After she lead him away and was out of earshot, Max snorted with laughter.

"Yeesh, I'm surprised those two aren't dating yet," the boy said, folding his arms. "Seriously, did you see the way he was just looking at her? Head over heels, I tell yah."

"Wouldn't it be sweet if they got together while they're here, though?" Caroline said with a twinkle in her eye. "Just think, Norman, our daughter's first boyfriend! How exciting!" Norman's expression deadpanned.

"Yes," he said, his voice flat. "Thrilling."

* * *

"All right, here you are," May said as she opened the door to the bedroom. Her cheerfulness had been restored, despite the briefing of Misty's gym downstairs. "I know it's plain, but mom always keeps in clean in case we have company."

Plain was a perfect description of the room; there was no defining decoration, and the carpet, walls, and curtains were all variants of a dull cream color. The room had all the essentials (a bed, dresser, nightstand, alarm clock) though, and that was all that mattered. Drew set his bag on top of the bed.

"Your family seems very nice," he remarked suddenly. May seemed a little caught of guard by this comment.

"Well, we have our fights," she replied with a shrug, "but we all still love each other." Drew was silent for a moment—which was unusual; though he wasn't talkative like May was, he wasn't a fan of lulls in conversation either—before speaking up again.

"By the way, I think a 'thank you' is in order," he said, facing her as he sat on the bed. May tilted her head.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Even though you so _rudely_ forced me into coming here with you..." he began with a smirk, "... I strangely appreciate it. So, thank you." May might have laughed if she didn't know he was dead serious. She bit her lip, and sat beside him.

"Drew... I don't mean to pry, but why don't you want to see your family in La Rousse?" She spoke with clear hesitation in her voice. Although Drew had been half-expecting for her to ask, the question threw him for a loop. He seemed to debate his options inwardly for a moment. May watched him warily, and her eyes brightened when it looked like he was about to open up. But at the last second, he pressed his lips together.

"Sorry," he answered finally, flicking his hair. "Too personal." May looked the slightest bit disappointed, but she nodded anyway.

"I understand," she said, standing again. "Well, I'll leave you to unpack. I'm going to take a quick shower." Right before she left, however, she turned toward him one last time.

"Oh, and," May began in a matter-of-fact tone, "the bathroom is down the hall, to your right, if you want to use it after me. Also, my bedroom is right across from yours if you... you know, wanna talk or anything." And then, she was gone.

Drew sucked in his breath and fell back across the sheets. His green irises dulled as he stared blankly at the ceiling, slipping into thoughts about what he wanted to say, but didn't, and whether he wanted to reveal these things to his rival. His _rival_, of all people!

He cast his arm over his eyes and sighed.

_**December 19th, 2001. Early Evening. Pallet Town.**_

"I've decided to stay in Pewter City for Christmas. It's been a while since I've seen my family," Brock explained through the video screen. His voice was slightly fuzzy over the poor connection. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I promise I'll be there for New Year's, if not earlier." Ash and Misty, both who barely had any room to sit on the chair they were sharing, were situated in front of the old video phone in the Ketchum residence. Pikachu and Azurill had temporarily switched trainers; the former was seated on Misty's lap while the latter was with Ash.

"Don't apologize," Misty said with a reassuring smile. "It's totally understandable."

"Yeah," Ash added. "Family is always important! Besides, you said so yourself, you'll be here for New Year's." Brock nodded, with a sort of relieved expression.

"Well, I'll guess I'll see you then," he said. "Misty, again, I'm glad you and your sisters are OK." The redhead smiled crookedly, but said nothing.

"I'll try to call again tomorrow," Brock continued. "Later." Misty and Ash waved to him before the line went dead. Ash placed Azurill down and stood up and stretched, reaching his arms high up into the air.

"Man, it'll be good once the three of us are back together," he said absentmindedly. "Like old times."

"Getting nostalgic, are we?" Misty asked with a smirk as Pikachu climbed onto her shoulder to join the conversation.

"Pika!"

"Can't help it," Ash replied with a grin. "You guys are invaluable to me." Misty was touched; although she hadn't met any of Ash's other traveling companions (save May and Max, whom she both liked well enough), she knew from the occasional phone conversations with the raven-haired trainer that he also held them all in high regard. Misty always expressed happiness that he was getting along well with his new companions, but couldn't help but feel slightly jealous and left behind. As silly and immature as she knew it was, she wondered if girls like May and Dawn and now Iris were just her replacements.

Misty in that moment realized how much she really missed traveling with Ash. Still, she couldn't help but quip:

"_Invaluable_? Careful now, Ash, you're using big words." Before he had a chance to reply, the doorbell rang from the room next to them. Ash turned his head curiously.

"Who would be here this late at night?" he wondered aloud.

"Maybe your mom is expecting company?" Misty suggested. Ash didn't reply and instead went to investigate. Misty and Pikachu followed.

They found that Delia had already answered the door and invited their unexpected guest into the living room. He had a very familiar face with flaming red hair and fierce, dark eyes. He appeared to be caught up in deep conversation with Daisy, who had an unusually concerned expression.

"Lance!" Ash exclaimed, recognizing him from their encounter at the Lake of Rage in Johto and when he helped stop Kyogre and Groudon from raging in Hoenn. Lance broke the conversation with Misty's older sister, turning his head toward the boy and cracking a half-smile.

"Hello, Ash," he greeted. "It's been a while."

"What are you doing here?" Ash asked.

"Well," he began, but he seemed to hesitate, "I'm actually here to talk to Misty, specifically." His gaze settled on the redhead, whose eyes widened in surprise.

"Me?" she asked, pointing to herself. He nodded.

"It's my responsibility as the Indigo League Champion to oversee my gym leaders and make sure they're OK when something like this happens. I visited Erika, too, when her gym in Celadon City also caught fire," he explained. "But that's not the only reason why I'm here: The Pokémon G-Men have have taken a special interest in your case, and I have a couple of questions for you." Misty was taken aback.

"Wait, _you're_ the organization that Lily and Violet said was investigating the Cerulean Gym?" she asked in disbelief. Lance nodded again.

"But, why would the G-Men get involved?" Ash added, tilting his head. "I mean, the fire was just an accident, wasn't it?" The Champion frowned.

"Unfortunately, we have reason to think otherwise," he said.

"_What?_"

"Allow me to explain," Lance began solemnly, though his voice was stern. "One of our agents, Ms. Greene, checked out the scene this morning. Her observations gave her the impression that this was no accident."

"Ms. Greene ... ?" Ash mumbled under his breath, but his inquiry was quickly overshadowed when Misty pressed for further elaboration.

"What observations?" she demanded. She didn't mean to sound disrespectful, but the notion that someone had intentionally attacked her family understandably disturbed her.

"Simply put, there is a giant hole above your bedroom, Ms. Waterflower, with no apparent explanation as to why it's there," Lance answered calmly.

"My sisters and Officer Jenny and I thought that perhaps a water heater-" Misty began, but she was quickly cut off.

"-A water heater did indeed overheat and explode, but it was nowhere near your room, and it did not cause any significant damage from where it was," Lance interjected. "You're thinking about this the wrong way: The fire caused the water heater to explode, an exploding water heater did not cause the fire."

"Then what caused the fire?" Ash asked, sliding himself back into the conversation.

"We're not entirely sure yet. We collected samples of an unusual residue from the damaged ceiling and are having them tested to give us a better idea at what we're looking at."

"Testing for what?" Misty asked, her face contorting in confusion.

"This much is clear," Lance continued, ignoring her question, "an external force caused the damage above your room, Ms. Waterflower. That gives us reason to believe someone was targeting _you_." The room fell into a stunned silence, and Lance allowed a moment for this new revelation to sink in. Pikachu folded his ears back apprehensively; though he couldn't fully comprehend the conversation, he understood enough to realize the situation was grave.

"Why would someone be after me?" Misty asked finally, clearing her throat. Her voice wavered slightly as she spoke. Ash moved closer to her, almost protectively.

"That's what I'm trying to find out," Lance replied, "but, you're a gym leader and a skilled trainer. That automatically puts you more at-risk for people who are anti-league."

"Anti-league?" Ash inquired.

"It's a complicated movement, but it's essentially opposition to the institution of Pokémon training." Lance glanced at Misty. "However, that's aside from the point." The water-type trainer pressed her lips together.

"All right," she said, sounding resolved. "So, what do you need to know?" A pleased smile crossed Lance's serious expression.

"My first question: Was there anything unusual that happened in the days leading up to the attack?" he asked. Misty's gut clenched, noting how he candidly referred to the incident as "the attack."

"Not really..." she said, her voice trailing off. She meandered over to the nearby sofa and sat down. Lance followed her, though he remained standing; he intended for this to be a brief visit. "It was pretty much business as usual."

"Did any shady or suspicious trainers challenge you for the Cascade badge?"

Misty shook her head.

"No, actually," she replied. "I only battled one trainer last week. A young girl from Saffron City. Samantha, I think her name was ... but she and her Chinchou were really sweet, I doubt she would have had anything to do with this. I lost, too, so it's not like she would be out for revenge or anything."

"Which leads me to my next question," Lance began, "is there anyone who might have a grudge against you or your family?" Misty paused and pondered his question for a couple of long moments, mentally sorting through all the different people with whom she had been in recent contact.

"Sorry," she apologized finally. "I can't think of anyone off the top of my head." A shadow fell across Lance's face, disappointed that she had nothing with which to provide the investigation.

"Well, that was all I had to ask, unfortunately," he said, reaching into his cloak and pulling out a small slip of paper with his contact information on it. "If you remember anything odd or think of anyone, please don't hesitate to call." Misty accepted the slip with a curt nod.

"I apologize for bursting in like this," Lance finished, casting Delia a furtive glance. He then turned away to leave the Ketchum residence. Misty watched him go, expressionless, though her mind was racing. Then:

"Wait!" she cried, jumping to her feet. Lance stopped, though his back remained turned toward her.

"There _was_ something unusual," Misty recalled. "When I went to lock up the gym, I looked outside and there was absolutely no one around. I didn't think much about it at the time, but it was kind of weird, since the gym is in the middle of the busiest part of the city." A beat of silence followed.

"Well, I suppose that make sense," Lance replied finally. Misty craned an eyebrow at him.

"What do you mean?" she asked. Lance paused, thinking of the best way to word his next statement.

"If someone wanted to attack you," he began, his voice lowering, "they wouldn't want any witnesses."

_**December 19th, 2001. Late Evening. Petalburg City.**_

The silence was deafening, and Drew hated it. He was used to falling asleep with some sort of noise buzzing in the background, whether it be the hum of a colony of bug Pokémon in the middle of a forest or the loud hustle of city nightlife; he had grown up in La Rousse, after all. And as charming as a small, quiet city like Petalburg was, the lack of partygoers and later-night workers meandering the streets rendered the entire area dead silent.

Drew turned over under his sheets, trying to get comfortable. His eyes flicked over the digital clock on the nightstand and he inwardly groaned. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him, and he wondered if he perhaps had some Butterfree Sleep Powder in his bag. He swung his feet over the edge of his bed and reached into his backpack, digging around.

"Ah, so I do have some," he mumbled quietly to himself with a smile as he pulled out a small, plastic container. The clear medicinal bottle was full of a bluish powder that had a strange, heavenly glow in the dark room. A little sprinkle of this in a cup of water, and he'd be asleep within minutes.

The silence was suddenly broken by an uproarious blowout of wood and concrete that shook the ground Drew stood on. The bottle slipped out his hand and hit the floor. He paid little mind to that, however, when he heard a loud, prepubescent male screech. 'Definitely Max,' Drew mentally noted. Without thinking, he reached into his bag and grabbed the first Pokéball he could—he picked the one containing Absol—and dashed out. May, having been awakened by the booming noise, happened to leave her room at the same time he did his.

"Did you hear that?" she asked in a loud whisper.

"I think the whole neighborhood did," Drew replied.

"That was Max!"

"I _know_," Drew said. "What, does he have a Voltorb that went off or something?" May quickly shook her head.

"No! He only turned 10 last month, he doesn't get his trainer's licence and starter 'till April!" she exclaimed, suddenly sounding a little panicked. Drew's expression deadpanned and lifted his Pokéball, enlarging it.

"Go get Blaziken," he said sternly, knowing the Fire-type was the strongest on her team. May reached into the pocket of her pajama bottoms, revealing she already had his Pokéball on standby. There was a second blast. May and Drew both lost their balance, tumbling onto the ground and into a heap. This time, there was the definite smell of smoke. The house was on fire.

"Golduck, use Hydro Pump!" Caroline's voice cried from downstairs.

"Vigoroth! Use Slash against that... thing!" Norman ordered. A loud crash followed; a battle of some sort was ensuing.

"Mom! Dad!" May cried desperately. She and Drew staggered to their feet and rushed downstairs. There was a noticeable hole in the roof above the living room, still steaming with heat, though Caroline and her Golduck had put out the flames. Caroline and Norman themselves were nowhere in sight, but Max emerged from behind the couch, his eyes wild and his glasses askew.

"Max! What happened?" May asked.

"I don't know!" he replied, obviously shaken. "Some kind of Pokémon attacked my room from the outside! Mom and Dad are battling it now. They told me to hide."

"I'd follow your parents advice, if I were you," Drew murmured to the younger boy. A crash that sounded like a tree's wood splitting and falling directed Drew and May outside. Max followed anyway.

Norman and Caroline were near the entrance of the gym, facing the attacker head-on. The Pokémon—or whatever it was—was unlike anything either May or Drew had ever seen before. It hovered high in the air above them, a dark, purplish aura engulfing it. Its entire body appeared to be covered in a heavy, technological armor with a helmet-like mask concealing its face. May, for a brief moment, wished she had her Pokédex with her, though she somehow doubted that it would contain any data on the mysterious intruder.

The creature began building a dark energy using its fists. Golduck and Vigoroth, who both had obviously taken a lot of a damage and were both exhausted, prepared themselves for the blast.

"Shadow Ball!" Max said, recognizing the move the attacker was busy creating. Drew cast the young boy a quick glance. If it was Shadow Ball, then the creature definitely was a Pokémon. The question was: What _kind_ of Pokémon?

The armor-laden Pokémon suddenly seemed to forget the Golduck and Vigoroth were even there and instead turned its attention toward the trio of children. Without a hint of hesitation, May enlarged Blaziken's Pokéball.

"Blaziken! Use Overheat!" she ordered, calling out the Fire-type. Blaziken immediately obeyed and unleashed a powerful inferno; the unknown Pokémon temporarily cut off its Shadow Ball attack and simply raised its armored hand, deflecting the Fire Blast back toward May and her Blaziken. Thinking quickly, Drew called out Absol and ordered a Razor Wind.

"Ab-sol!" the Disaster Pokémon cried, declaring battle. His Razor Wind managed to cut through the huge ball of fire. The four trainers and Max had to shield their eyes from the rain of embers that resulted from the dissemination of the flames. In the meantime, the Pokémon picked up where it left off with its Shadow Ball, aiming the blast of dark energy directly at May and Max.

"Kids! Look out!" Norman yelled.

"Absol! Use Iron Tail!" Drew exclaimed. The Absol leapt up into the air, swinging his full weight around and using his tail to counter the Shadow Ball. While the Dark-type successfully managed to defend May and Max from the powerful move, the collision of energy was so great that it sent Absol flying back into his trainer. Drew hit the rear of his head against the ground while the sharp edge of Absol's horn accidentally sliced through the skin on the left side of his face. The result was a large, albeit shallow gash running from the area above his temple to down just past his ear.

"Drew!" May cried, her voice clearly strained as she rushed to his aid.

"I'm fine, I'm fine..." he insisted as she helped Absol off of him. His words were blending together, and his gaze was unfocused and dream-like. May realized that he probably had a concussion, though she could do little about it with the mysterious Pokémon still at large. The Pokémon, however, seemed greatly disturbed upon seeing the stream of blood that was flowing down the side of Drew's face. The purple mist surrounding it suddenly began fading in and out. It curled up feebly in the air, and ducked its head into its arms. Norman took advantage of the opportunity and ordered a Flamethrower attack from his Vigoroth. The armored Pokémon didn't try to counteract the move this time, and allowed the fire attack to hit him (or her) full on. Yet once flames dissipated, the Pokémon had vanished.

Caroline let out a huge sigh of relief. Norman, on the other hand, remained alert in case the Pokémon came back. May hoisted Drew on her shoulder, not minding that the gash on the side of his head was staining her shirt, though she was very much concerned about the amount of blood the wound was producing—she wasn't aware of how serious the injury was or was not, yet. Max's eyes, meanwhile, remained fixed in the sky.

"What was that thing?" he said, his voice full of awe and terror.

_**December 20th, 2001. Midnight Hour. Pallet Town.**_

Ash awoke with a start and, in a flurry of confused panic, got tangled up in his sheets and fell off the bed.

He hit his head against the hard wooden floor, gasping in a quick, startled breath. The images of hot, red flames flashing across his eyes suddenly stopped and steadily began to fade from his memory. He laid still for a long moment as the figures and sensations of his nightmare slipped away, never again to be obtained. Ash slowly brought his hand to his forehead, wiping away a bead of sweat that had formed. His skin was warm to the touch, hot even.

"Pika?"

Pikachu was looking at his trainer up from above on top of the bed, his curious brown eyes full of worry. Ash forced a grin and awkwardly waved at his partner.

"Ha ha, don't worry about me," he insisted with a nervous chuckle. "I just rolled off the bed accidentally. No big deal." The Electric-type seemed unconvinced, but he nevertheless disappeared from his trainer's sight, probably off to settle back on top of the pillow and go to sleep. Ash's hand dropped to his side on the ground.

What had he been dreaming about?

_**December 20th, 2001. Midnight Hour. Celestic Town.**_

Cynthia emitted a low growl as the screech of her ringtone roused her to a sitting position. Steven, barely in tune with reality, rolled on his side, away from her. He was coherent enough to briefly reflect on the occasional midnight calls, usually regarding some minor crisis that probably could have waited until morning, he would receive when he was the Champion of Hoenn. It was something he certainly didn't miss about the honor.

"Yes? This is Cynthia Stone speaking," the woman said, suppressing a yawn. Then: "Wallace?"

Cynthia was now on her feet, and Steven suddenly felt a lot more cognizant. His dark gray eyes followed her into their bedroom's adjunct bathroom. She flicked on the light and shut the door out of respect to him, though she had yet to realize he was actually awake. Nevertheless, Steven could still faintly hear her speak through the cracks from which the ominous yellow glow emanated.

"Calm down, speak slower," she admonished. "Really, I've never heard you so worked up before. What-" She stopped short and fell silent, listening to whatever Wallace had to say.

"Arceus. ... Oh Arceus..."

Steven sat up. The situation had to be serious; Cynthia _never_ swore.

"Have you talked to Lance yet? I see... No, I understand. Yes, of course we'll come. Keep us updated on any new information, and tell Lance to send me those files." The door reopened and Cynthia came out in a flurry. She had quickly redone her make-up in the brief time she was in there, and it became clear she intended to leave soon, if not immediately, as she headed to the wardrobe to get dressed in something more presentable than a nightgown.

"Where are you going?" Steven asked gently as he rose to his feet. Cynthia turned, a little caught off-guard.

"Hoenn," she answered shortly. "There's been another incident, one similar to what happened in Cerulean City a couple of days ago."

"Another gym leader?" Worry was laced in his voice; though it had been a little over a year since Wallace had succeeded him as the Hoenn Champion, Steven still loved and respected the people with whom he had been so blessed to work. He had not seen many of them since he married Cynthia and relocated to Sinnoh, but he nevertheless still considered many of them good friends.

"Yes," Cynthia nodded. "The one in Petalburg City."

"Norman Maple?"

"I believe so." Her eyes gave him a once-over. "You should get dressed. There's a flight to Mauville City from the Celestic Airport soon. Wallace is making reservations for us."

"For _us_? Cynthia, I'm no longer the Hoenn Champion."

"And... ?" She posed the question gently, though she was clearly tense.

"I feel I do not belong in the affairs of the G-Men and the National Pokémon League. Lance might think it inappropriate, and Wallace may be offended."

She visibly shifted when Lance's name was mentioned.

"Don't worry about Lance's opinion. Besides, I highly doubt Lance would be so mean to exclude you. You know you're probably one of the few people he's ever respected," she said. "As for Wallace, he will be thrilled to have your guidance. He's... new to this. Although he was inducted long ago, he's never had to lead—much less work with—the G-Men in an investigation. You, on the other hand, have had _years_ of experience, and I'm sure you'll actually be a far better asset to him than me, since Hoenn is your home region."

Steven hesitated, "I do not want to come off as bitter and unwelcome."

"You won't," she reassured him as she buttoned up her blouse. "You are my husband, and you stand among good friends. You will always be welcome."

Steven sighed.

"If you insist."

.

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	4. III: In Which Drew Speaks Out

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Chapter III: In Which Drew Speaks Out

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_**December 20th, 2001. Before Sunrise. Mauville City.**_

"I don't understand why Lance didn't clue the rest of us in on this information earlier..." Cynthia mused as she scrolled through a series of electronic files regarding the attack in Cerulean City on her PokéTablet. "... I hadn't even known that the Indigo division of the G-Men was doing an in-depth investigation of this."

"I'm sure Lance just didn't want to drag us into his affairs," Steven reminded her. "He probably thought what happened in Cerulean was an isolated incident."

Cynthia's lips tightened.

"True."

The couple was briskly moving through the terminal in the Mauville airport, their flight having landed only a couple of minutes earlier. They passed by the luggage claim as they hadn't the time to pack anything and went outside, where Wallace and another man with long purple hair were waiting.

"Cynthia, Steven," Wallace greeted with a smile, "thank you for coming."

"It's nice to see you again," Cynthia said warmly. "I just wish it was under better circumstances."

"Indeed." Wallace frowned. The Water Master then looked to the man standing beside him. "I should introduce you. This is my cousin, Harley Rannells. He was visiting me in Sootopolis for the holidays when I got the call from the Officer Jenny of Petalburg informing me of the attack."

"It's such a pleasure to meet you both," Harley said, eagerly shaking the hands of Cynthia and Steven. "I must say, Steven, I was a huge fan of yours back when you were the Champion of Hoenn. I heard you tied the knot with Cynthia here recently. Talk about a power couple, eh? Congratulations."

Steven offered him a crooked smile and a polite nod, but he said nothing.

"Well, shall we get moving then?" Wallace asked, gesturing toward the limo that was waiting upon them. "I talked to Caroline Maple over the phone while she was at the hospital and set up an appointment to meet with their family at their home."

"At the hospital?" Cynthia raised her eyebrows.

"They had a guest who was hurt during the attack. He's going to be fine, though."

"Ah."

Once the four adults were settled inside the vehicle and on their way, Cynthia spoke up once again:

"So, tell us what you know Wallace," she began after clearing her throat. "You talked to Caroline Maple, right? Did she say anything about the attack?

He nodded. "They actually saw their attacker, unlike the Waterflower sisters. She said it was a Pokémon, though it was one they had never seen before. The way she described it, it's nothing I've ever heard of either. She said it was human-like and wearing some sort of armor."

"How do they know it was a Pokémon?" Cynthia inquired.

"It kept launching Shadow Ball attacks—or, at least, something that was like a Shadow Ball."

"Shadow Ball?" Steven spoke for the first time since his arrival. He took Cynthia's PokéTablet and opened a particular file they had viewed earlier. "Here, it says in the report Lance sent that an agent found a strange substance near Misty Waterflower's bedroom. The agent wrote that it had properties akin to Ghost-type attacks, and there's a note at the bottom that says that a sample was collected and sent to the gym leader in Ecruteak to be examined."

"Well, that would certainly tie the two incidents together if the sample does turn out to be remnants of a Shadow Ball attack," Wallace said, impressed. "Brilliant, Steven."

Steven seemed to relax a little after that, and Cynthia sent a quick smile his way.

"So, does this mean we're looking at a Ghost-type Pokémon?" Wallace continued.

"Perhaps," Steven conceded, speaking more freely now, "but there are many Pokémon out there that are capable of learning Shadow Ball. Additionally, I've never heard of any ghost-types that match the description of 'armored.'"

"Maybe it hasn't been discovered, yet?" Harley pitched in, unashamed. "You know those Pokémon researchers like Professor Oak are finding new species of Pokémon all the time."

"That's a possibility, too," Steven nodded. "Unfortunately, it's useless to speculate what this Pokémon is at this point. It's more important to figure out what the motivation is behind these attacks are."

"Lance was thinking along the lines of anti-league when I spoke with him on the phone earlier," Wallace commented.

"A good theory, but we'll just have to see once we talk to the Maples today," Steven said.

"Speaking of which, how far away is Petalburg from here?" Cynthia asked.

"About four hours, I believe," Wallace answered. The Sinnoh Champion sighed.

"Well," she began, casting Steven a quick glance, "maybe we should take now as an opportunity to catch up on missed sleep. Sleep will likely become a privilege soon."

_**December 20th, 2001. Morning. Veilstone City.**_

"_We're here live in Petalburg City, the location of yet another unusual case in which the home of the local Pokémon League Gym Leader mysteriously caught fire in the middle of the night. Several residents have told us they heard a loud 'explosion' late last night at around 11:30 p.m., but Petalburg's Officer Jenny declined to comment whether this was the cause of the fire._

_Norman Maple, the Petalburg City Gym Leader; his wife; two children; and a guest of the Maple family all made it out safely and managed to put out the fire before it could spread and cause serious damage to the home. The guest was apparently transported to the hospital for a minor head injury, but is expected to make a full recovery. Our sources tell us this guest may be famous La Rousse coordinator Drew Hayden, rival and speculated boyfriend of May Maple, gym leader Norman's oldest child and only daughter._

_Still, this mysterious and dangerous case raises questions about whether last night's events here in Petalburg are connected to the fire in the Cerulean City that burned the gym and home of the Waterflower sisters to the ground last week. Is this the work of an arsonist who has a vendetta against the National Pokémon League or just a disturbing coincidence? To answer that, we turn the time over to crime analyst Jason-_"

Reggie switched the television set off, which prompted a rather irritated look to cross Paul's typically stoic face. The younger brother, who had returned from his travels for the holidays, was seated on the sofa and had up until that point been watching the news report with mild interest.

"Sorry," Reggie apologized. "I'm not trying to be ignorant and turn a blind eye to the bad things that are going on in the world, but... well, Maylene's going to be here any minute, and she's really scared by what happened in Cerulean and now Petalburg. I invited her to have breakfast with us, just to get her mind off of it all."

"Maylene doesn't have any reason to be scared," Paul grunted in response. "Norman Maple and Misty Waterflower are the respected gym leaders of well-established gyms. Practically no one knows Maylene exists. If whoever is doing this really wants to make an impression on the league, they'll continue going after the more popular gym leaders." Reggie gave his younger brother an exasperated look.

"We don't even know if this is an attack on the league, yet," he pointed out. "The newscaster said so herself; this all could be a coincidence." Paul folded his arms.

"Two cases of gym leader's homes catching fire within a couple of days of each other does _not_ sound like a coincidence to me," the teen retorted. Reggie sighed.

"Just please don't bring any of this up once Maylene gets here," he pleaded. Paul rolled his eyes.

"Whatever."

Reggie returned to the kitchen to finish preparing the blueberry pancake mix he had started earlier. Paul slumped on the couch when suddenly, a young Shinx Reggie was caring for leapt onto his lap. The lion cub-like Pokémon looked up at the trainer with her big, yellow eyes, pleading for attention. Paul craned an eyebrow, and the two seemed to engage in a staring contest. After a long moment, Paul gave in and patted the electric type roughly on the head. The Shinx grinned and stretched her claws out happily, purring.

"You know, I really wish you two would get along better," Reggie said suddenly, loud enough for Paul to hear. Paul's lips tightened.

"What? I'm being nice and petting the damn thing, not throwing it off my lap like I'd like to," he grumbled. Reggie poked his head into the living room, mixing bowl in hand.

"I meant you and Maylene," he clarified. "Although, I am glad you are generally being gentler with Pokémon these days." Paul scowled and, in retaliation, promptly pushed the Shinx off of him after that statement.

"Why does it matter to you?" Paul asked gruffly.

"Because I love you both," Reggie replied in a matter-of-fact tone. Paul inwardly groaned but said nothing.

"And," Reggie continued, his voice slowing down and growing a little more serious, "I don't know. ... What if she started living with us? How would you handle that?" Paul looked at his brother warily.

"What are you suggesting?" he asked. Reggie paused and seemed to hesitate.

"Well, I suppose there's no sense in hiding it," the breeder declared finally. "I'm planning on asking Maylene to marry me."

A long period of silence followed. Paul averted his gaze from his older brother, but he remained expressionless.

"If Maylene and I are going to be married, though," Reggie continued when Paul's silence on the issue became unbearable, "I want your approval."

"_What?_"

"I want your blessing, Paul."

"It's not my business what you do."

Reggie sighed, a half-amused, half-frustrated smile spreading across his lips as he said, "I think you misunderstand." Paul shook his head.

"No, I understand it perfectly. Fine, get married. What do I care? Have fun being a husband. It doesn't matter to me one way or another," he said. "There's my blessing."

The edges of Reggie's dark gray eyes softened. Most of the time, Paul was an unsolvable enigma, but Reggie knew his brother well enough to see that this was upsetting him. As it stood, everything Reggie did affected Paul, even if in the most subtle ways. The only family the two brothers had was each other, and while they weren't the closest of siblings, both still valued the relationship—even though Paul had difficulty showing it. Maylene, as Reggie understood it, was a threat to that relationship in Paul's eyes. He'd reacted similarly when he found out they were dating. Reggie made a mental note that he would have to confront Paul again on the topic later.

"Will you promise to at least try to be nicer to Maylene, then?" Reggie asked. "She'll be your sister-in-law, after all."

"Sure, whatever," Paul conceded. Then, as if on cue, the doorbell rang. Reggie grinned, smoothing down his apron and combing his fingers through his sleek, purple hair.

"Remember, don't mention anything about the Cerulean or Petalburg gyms," Reggie reminded as he went to answer the door. Paul grunted in response and then noticed the Shinx from earlier was back and staring at him again. Her tail was flicking back and forth playfully as she gazed up at him from the ground near his feet. Paul scowled.

"What do _you_ want?"

_**December 20th, 2001. Morning. Petalburg City.**_

"Yes, Dawn, we're all doing well..." May said, though she had a slightly distracted tone in her voice. She was sitting in the damaged living room of her home, speaking to her friend from Sinnoh through her PokéNav. Drew was situated beside her, but his attention was turned elsewhere. He had come back from the local hospital a couple of hours earlier, and had eleven stitches sewn up along the cut on his face. He also, as May suspected, had a minor concussion and was currently fighting off a severe headache. He had recently ended a conversation with Solidad to let her know that he and May were OK.

"Well, that's a relief to hear," Dawn sighed. May suddenly heard a familiar voice in the background, but she couldn't make out its owner's words. "And Zoey sends her well-wishes, too," Dawn added. May's head perked up.

"Zoey's with you?" she asked. May's question was answered when the redhead suddenly appeared on the tiny screen beside Dawn.

"I sure am! Arceus, what a terrible thing to happen, though. The good thing is that every one is OK..." Zoey said.

"And, you know," Dawn began again, "it's really weird, because Misty Waterflower's gym caught on fire, too. Do you know her? She used to travel with Ash. I never actually met her myself." Drew's head turned slightly, his interest piqued.

"Yes, I know Misty," May said. "Hold on, did you say, 'caught on fire, too?'"

"Yeah, isn't that what happened?"

"Well... yes, but there's more to it, at least on our end."

"What do you mean?" Zoey asked.

"The house was attacked by some really weird Pokémon; the fire was just a side effect of its Shadow Ball hitting some electrical wiring in the roof, I think," May explained.

"Really?" Zoey said, her eyes widening.

"No way!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Didn't they tell you that on the news report you saw?" May asked, confusion painted on her face.

"No, they've been reporting it as a 'mysterious fire.' They never mentioned you guys were _attacked,_" Zoey clarified.

"Makes sense," said Drew, jumping into the conversation. "I'm sure the G-Men and other local authorities would want people believe these were accidents, rather than attacks by some random Pokémon on the loose. It would incite panic."

"Wait, May, who's with you?" Dawn asked, tilting her head curiously. "Is that Max? He sounds older than 10."

"Oh, no, that's just Drew," May replied.

"You mean Drew as in Drew Hayden? The 'Prince of Coordinating' Drew Hayden?" Dawn's eyes were practically sparkling with excitement. Drew smirked and, taking a moment to ignore the pounding in his head, scooted closer to May so he could see the two girls she was speaking to on the PokéNav's screen.

"That's me," he confirmed smugly. May rolled her eyes and pushed him away.

"_Please_, Dawn, don't inflate his ego," she pleaded.

"Hang on," Zoey said, holding her hands up. "Does that mean the rumors are actually true then? That you two are dating? I thought that was something _Coordinator's Monthly_ made up to sell their November issue." May seemed to blush upon the suggestion, which Drew, of course, found amusing. Speculations about the nature of their relationship had been popping up online and in tabloids as early as last year's Kanto Grand Festival. May was terrible at deflecting these accusations, but Drew, at least, had an acquired skill for averting the topic without breaking a sweat—unless that accuser was Solidad, who was utterly convinced Drew was infatuated with May, no matter how much he tried to protest the notion.

"W-well, that's because it is something _Coordinator's Monthly_ made up," May stammered. "Drew's just here as a friend."

"OK May, whatever you say," Dawn replied with a shrug. She clearly wasn't buying it, and neither was Zoey. May was luckily saved when her mother poked her head inside from the front door and said that there were a couple of people who wanted to speak to the entire family (and Drew) privately.

"All right, that's my cue to go," May said with a sigh of relief. "I'll talk to you guys later." After the call ended, Caroline swung open the door fully and invited in their guests—four people that the two young coordinators were able to recognize: Steven and Cynthia Stone, Wallace Reyes, and lastly (and perhaps most surprisingly), Harley.

"Harley?" May questioned, rising to her feet. "What are you doing here?" Drew also stood up, a little wary of the sudden arrival of their devious coordinating rival.

"Oh May, darling, when I heard that your family was attacked late last night, I insisted I come with Wallace to see you and make sure you were OK," he declared dramatically.

"With Wallace?" Drew asked suspiciously.

"Well, yes, of course," Harley replied with a wink. "Wallace is my cousin." This seemed to catch both May and Drew off-guard.

"Really? So, Wallace is the family you were visiting in Sootopolis City?" May asked in awe.

"That's right," Wallace interjected suavely with a charming smile. "Who do you think inspired my dear young cousin to take up coordinating?" Both May and Drew paused for a long moment to allow this new information to sink in.

"Well, I guess you learn something new every day," said Max, who seemed a little skeptical himself as he entered the room alongside his father. Norman's expression brightened upon seeing that Steven was present.

"Steven, it's such a pleasure to see you again," he said, going in to shake the silver-haired trainer's hand. "I thought you were still traveling the region."

"I was for a while, Norman," Steven replied with an equally friendly smile and handshake. "But I decided it was finally time to settle down." He exchanged a rather quick, but affectionate glance with Cynthia.

"Wait, Dad," Max began, doing a double-take between Norman and Steven. "You know him?"

"Well, of course!" Norman said a hearty grin. "Steven was the Champion of Hoenn when I became a gym leader. He was the one who recommended me and pushed the paperwork through so the Petalburg City Gym could be officially recognized by the National Pokémon League."

"A choice that seems to have, regrettably, placed you and your family in danger, Norman," Steven replied apologetically. Norman shook his head.

"Nonsense, Steven, this isn't your fault. Don't think it for an instant," he said.

"The blame _will_ fall upon the Champions if we don't put an end to these attacks," Cynthia said, speaking up. "I can't speak for Wallace, Alder, and Lance, but I've received a flood of emails from concerned gym leaders in Sinnoh. People are worried they're next."

"So, is it true then, what the reporters outside have been saying?" Caroline asked with great concern. "That this is somehow connected to the incident in Cerulean City?"

"We have reason to believe they're tied together," Cynthia said, though she gave no further elaboration.

"Wait, so," May piped up shyly, feeling a little intimidated by all the great and famous trainers that surrounded her, "Misty's gym was attacked, too? It wasn't just an accidental fire?"

"There were no witnesses, and none of the Waterflower sisters ever saw the strange Pokémon Caroline described for Wallace," Steven answered. "Nevertheless, the reports we've received from the Pokémon G-Men division in Indigo indicate that an external force—which we now believe to be a Shadow Ball attack from the very same Pokémon that was here last night—hit the attic just above young Misty Waterflower's bedroom." This statement seemed to catch Drew's attention, but he remained silent as the wheels began turning in his head.

"The Pokémon G-Men?" Max asked curiously.

"They're a government group that investigates special cases under the National Pokémon League's Champions' direction," Norman explained to his young son. Wallace nodded.

"All regional Champions are automatically inducted into the G-Men after they earn the title," he said, brushing a wayward strand of teal hair out of his eye. "It's a part of our responsibilities to ensure the Pokémon and Pokémon trainers of our respective regions remain safe when dangerous situations such as this one arises. And it's absolutely unacceptable if the National Pokémon League's gym leaders are being targeted-"

"-If I may cut in," Drew said suddenly, no longer able to keep his mouth shut. All eyes turned to him and May looked a little shocked at his brash interruption. Wallace seemed unperturbed, however.

"Go on," he said. Drew sucked in his breath, preparing for a long-winded explanation.

"Well, to be straight, I don't think this is an attack on the gym leaders, or the league for that matter. I did at first, but you," Drew gestured to Steven, "said something earlier that changed my mind. You said the Shadow Ball hit the area just above gym leader Misty Waterflower's bedroom, right?" Steven nodded.

"Well," Drew continued, "if we are going with the theory that this Pokémon is after gym leaders, then by logic it should have been gunning for Norman last night. But no, the first Shadow Ball hit the outside of Max's bedroom. Not Norman's. Furthermore, when May and I went outside to help fight off the Pokémon, it seemed to completely lose interest in Norman and Caroline and their Pokémon. In fact, it aimed its last attack directly at May and Max themselves. I would know, because when I ordered my Absol to step in to defend them," Drew pushed his green bangs back to reveal the full length of the stitches running up the side of his face, "I ended up getting this."

He dropped his hand. "My point is, if this really was an attack against the league, then that Pokémon would have been aiming for Norman, the gym leader, and not his kids," Drew finished.

"An interesting argument," Steven said thoughtfully. "Norman?" The gym leader shrugged.

"Every thing that he said is completely true, now that I think about it," he confirmed.

"Yes," Caroline mused in agreement. "That Pokémon did seem to forget Norman and I were there once May and Max came outside."

"Well, I hate to be the devil's advocate," Harley began in his usual manner, "but why would a Pokémon, or any trainer who may be in control of said Pokémon, be after a couple of _sweet_ children who have no real bearing on serious matters? Where's the connection? What's the purpose?" Drew shot the older coordinator an irritated look.

"I don't know _why_," Drew replied with a frustrated edge in his voice, "but how's this for a connection: May, Max, and Misty all know each other. If I understand correctly, they all used to travel with Ash Ketchum." He then turned his attention to the three Champions, former and current. "Have your G-Men investigate that." A moment of silence followed Drew's bold statement, which was only interrupted by a loud buzzing noise. Cynthia flicked over her wrist to check her Pokétch and promptly had her breath taken away. Steven looked at her with great concern.

"What? What's the matter?" he persisted. Cynthia quickly gathered her wits about her to reply.

"I just received a message that there's been a third attack, this time at a residence in Veilstone City, Sinnoh," she said. "The local gym leader, Maylene, happened to be visiting."

_**December 20th, 2001. Late Morning. Indigo Plateau.**_

"_Arceus!_" Leaf winced when she heard Lance cry the curse out in anger and slam the phone back into its hook.

"What happened?" she asked as Lance came storming back into the room. She knew it had to be bad; Lance typically avoided swearing in front of her.

"Another attack in Veilstone City," Lance mumbled in response as he went to his computer, pulled up a blank Word doc, and began typing furiously. "This time at a residence, but Maylene Lillis was present."

"_What?_" Leaf straightened up. "Just now? In broad daylight?"

"Yes."

"Geez..." Leaf shook her head. "Whoever is in charge of this mysterious Pokémon is getting more bold. Seems like they don't care whether they're seen or not. Maybe that's why it has the armor... ? You know, to disguise it?"

Lance didn't reply, and Leaf frowned.

"So what are you working on?" she pressed.

"A memo to send out to the gym leaders in Kanto and Johto," he finally spoke up again. "That was Cynthia I was talking to. Wallace's knee-jerk reaction to the attack was to close down all the gyms in Hoenn. I was telling her she, myself, and Alder need to do the same."

"Wait," Leaf suddenly interjected. "What good will that do? If the last attack was at a home, then whoever is behind all this is after those gym leaders, not those gyms."

"I'm aware," Lance answered tersely. "Wallace doesn't understand that, but Cynthia and I do."

"Why, then?"

"It gives off the impression that we're a unified front and not a bunch of Duckletts running around with their heads cut off."

"So it's a PR stunt?" Leaf asked. "If that's the case, then the only thing we're giving off is a false sense of security."

"It'll keep the press off our backs, so that's fine with me," Lance said curtly.

Leaf appeared doubtful, but she, nevertheless, changed the subject: "So, still think this is the work of an anti-league group? Team Plasma, maybe?"

Lance was silent for a moment as he saved the document on his computer and pulled up his e-mail.

"I don't know what to think anymore."

**_December 20th, 2001. Afternoon. Twinleaf Town._**

"_Breaking News: We've just received word that Champion Lance Grayson of the Indigo League has followed the example set by Champion Wallace Reyes of the Hoenn League and Champion Cynthia Stone of the Sinnoh League, and has called for the temporary shutdown of all official Pokémon gyms in the Johto and Kanto regions. We now await word whether Champion Alder Ray of the Unova League will also decide to close Unovan gyms until further notice, thus bringing all of the major branches of the National Pok__émon League _and the famous Pokémon League Challenge to a complete standstill for the first time in history.

_This after a third incident of what is a now-speculated show of defiance against the national league occurred in a resident's home in Veilstone City, Sinnoh. Local Veilstone Gym Leader Maylene Lillis was present during at the scene. Veilstone's Officer Jenny declined to tell us who the homeowners are, but she said that Lillis and the two other residents sustained no major injuries..._"

"Arceus, this is unreal," Kenny muttered under his breath, his eyes fixed on the television screen. He, along with Barry and Dawn, were all sitting around the coffee table in Dawn's home, tentatively sipping on the hot chocolate Johanna had prepared for them. Zoey was in the next room over, having a private conversation with Candice via video telephone about the matter at hand.

"I know," Dawn agreed. "I see they're still not saying anything about how some weird Pokémon is all behind this."

"Lup!" added Piplup, who was settled comfortably on his trainer's lap. Barry frowned and set his mug down.

"Yeah, I mean, come on," he began, folding his arms. "You'd think the media would be all about telling us the truth, but nooo. They don't think we can handle the truth, do they?" Zoey and Dawn had already filled Barry and Kenny in on the information they had gleaned from their conversation with May and Drew earlier in the day.

"Well, Drew Hayden did say that he thought the G-Men would be keeping that bit of information under wraps," Dawn conceded. "And, you know, the media can only tell what they're told. Maybe it's for the better though; people would be in absolute panic if every one knew the full story."

"Oh, please, people are already in panic," Zoey said, re-entering the room and taking her place beside Dawn once again. "I just finished talking to Candice, and even she's scared. If a relatively unknown gym leader like Maylene can be targeted, then why can't she? ... Anyway, she said Cynthia sent out an email requesting that all her gym leaders lay low and, if possible, move somewhere else until this whole mess is resolved. Candice plans on staying in Snowpoint, but she and I agreed it might be best if I ... well, not come." Dawn's face fell.

"Oh, Zoey, I'm really sorry..." she sighed sympathetically. Zoey brushed the comment off.

"I'll be fine. Candice is the one I'm worried about. I don't know what I would do if something happened to her," she said.

"Well, if you need a place to stay for Christmas," Johanna said suddenly, entering the room with another cup of hot chocolate for Zoey, "our home is open to you." The redhead smiled weakly.

"Thank you, Ms. Berlitz. I appreciate it," she said, accepting the steaming mug.

"Yeah," Dawn added with a half-smile. "I know you're probably really worried and upset over this whole situation, but try not to let it ruin the holidays for you. I'm sure Candice will be fine."

"Right, and remember, there's been no causalities, yet," Kenny said reassuringly. "I mean, yeah, some minor injuries and property damage, but no body bags yet." An irritated look crossed Dawn's face.

"Could you be a little less candid about it, Kenny?" she asked an edge in her voice. Kenny craned an eyebrow at her.

"Well _excuse_ me, for trying to be comforting!" he retorted.

"All right, all right, stop it both of you," Zoey said, jumping in to break up the spat before it could escalate any further. "There's no need to fight, and there's no need to tip-toe around me. You're right, Dawn, Candice will be fine. I know Cynthia will see to it that she, along with the rest of Sinnoh's gym leaders, are taken care of and safe from danger."

"That's the right attitude!" Barry exclaimed, pumping his fist. In his excitement, his elbow accidentally hit his mug, causing the hot drink to spill on his lap. He yowled from the sting of the burn and jumped to his feet, hastily wiping the liquid off of his pants. The amusing scene elicited a few laughter from Kenny, Dawn, and even Zoey, though her half-hearted chuckled quickly died away, and she turned her attention to the window. A light snow was beginning to fall. She wondered if, maybe, they would have a white Christmas.

She rested her chin on her palm, entranced by the flurry of snowflakes outside. She was so dazed she failed to notice the second half of the Barry show, in which Dawn gave him a hand towel to help clean up the mess he made and deemed him a total spazz, while Kenny stood by with a playful grin, making a few snide, but nevertheless witty comments about the unfortunate situation.

_**December 20th, 2001. Late Afternoon. Striaton City.**_

"Oh man, oh man, oh man... ah!" A loud crash followed, and it sounded like something expensive and made of glass had shattered on the tile floor in the kitchen. Cilan, who was in the middle of a conversation with Iris via video telephone in the next room over, cringed upon hearing the commotion. His eye twitched slightly, hoping that whatever had just broken was not from their China dish set.

"Chili, could you please calm down? Look at this mess..." Cilan could hear Cress scold with a sigh.

"Sounds like Chili's a bit panicked," remarked Iris, who had overheard the rumpus.

"Ax!" added her Axew, who had poked his head out of his trainer's mass of hair when the loud crash occurred, curious as to what had happened. When he realized nothing truly interesting was going on, he disappeared into Iris's tangles once again.

"Everyone is a bit on edge. Even I feel uneasy," Cilan said, glancing back toward the kitchen. "We really shouldn't have let him in there. He eats when he's stressed, but when he's stressed, he tends to be a bit clumsy..." The connoisseur snapped his attention back to the dragon trainer. "Anyway, did you hear Champion Alder's announcement?"

"Yes," Iris said. "That all Unova gym leaders are not to accept any challengers. The same as pretty much all the gym leaders across the nation, now. That's why I called, actually."

"Hm?" Cilan's head perked up.

"Well..." Iris nervously began twirling a piece of her long, wild hair around her finger. "I don't know, this whole thing has me really worried—worried about you and your brothers, especially. But I've been worrying about Ash, too." Cilan looked mildly confused upon the confession. (Although, he had to admit, it touched him that Iris was concerned about him and his family. It was always nice to hear someone cared, even if it was during an unfortunate and sticky situation such as this).

"Worried about Ash?" he inquired. "Ash isn't a gym leader. A talented trainer, certainly..."

"I know, I know," Iris added quickly. "But, ever since I found out about that second attack in Hoenn—did you know they're calling it an attack now? on the National Pokémon League?—I've been doing a lot of thinking. And my mind keeps wandering back to that night Ash had that nightmare, you know, right before he left for Kanto... and just a couple of days before the incident at the Cerulean Gym."

"You think they're somehow connected?" Cilan sounded downright skeptical.

"It's my sixth sense," Iris insisted. "Don't give me that look, Cilan! I was right about the spirit—the Yamask, that is—at the Nacrene Museum, wasn't I?"

The connoisseur smiled weakly and said, "I'm not saying there isn't reason to be concerned, Iris. I just think that you're over-thinking things." Iris looked ready to retort, but at the last moment, her shoulders sagged in defeat.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe I'm just being paranoid," she conceded. "Ash is just a little kid, anyway. He wouldn't have anything to do with this, would he?" She seemed to be asking for reassurance, which Cilan was graciously willing to provide.

"Yes, I'm sure this is all just a terrible coincidence," he said. He tilted his head. "But, I must ask, whatever gave you such an idea that Ash's dream might be connected with these events? Other than your sixth sense." Iris's eyes brightened with sudden understanding.

"Oh! I guess you didn't realize."

"Realize what?"

"The first gym that was attacked, the one in Cerulean... that's the one his friend Misty is in charge of. The girl he was so excited to see for Christmas."

_**December 20th, 2001. Early Evening. Pallet Town.**_

"So... it was Pokémon, huh..." Ash mused, obviously in deep thought. He and Misty were situated in front of the video phone in the same manner as the previous evening, except instead of Brock, they were speaking to May and Max. Pikachu was, as usual, perched on his trainer's shoulder. Azurill was with his mother, Tracey's Marill, at the lab.

"Do you know what Pokémon it was?" Misty prompted further. May shook her head.

"No idea," she said.

"It was a Pokémon, for sure, though," Max added, pushing up his glasses. "It kept using a Shadow Ball attack."

"Are you positive?" Misty asked.

"Yeah, no doubt about it," May said, nodding. "I talked to Drew for a bit while we were at the hospital, and we both agreed: The blasts it kept launching at us were definitely Shadow Balls, which would make it a Pokémon, wouldn't it?"

"You'd think..." Ash said wistfully before his attention zeroed in on something else May had said. "Hang on, Drew is with you guys? Drew, as in, your rival Drew?"

"Oh, yeah," May said, letting out a nervous chuckle. "He's with my family for the holidays." She leaned her head back and called out, "Hey, Drew! Come say hello to Ash and my friend Misty!" Misty, meanwhile, looked a little lost. She had never heard of this Drew character before, but concluded that if he was staying with the Maples for the holidays, then he must have a close relationship with May. The redhead leaned closer to Ash and, whispering in his ear, asked:

"Is Drew May's boyfriend?" Now it was Ash's turn to be confused.

"Huh? Boyfriend?" he said as if he had never heard the term before. Misty and Pikachu both sighed. He really was hopeless.

"Right, sorry," the water-type trainer said. She then turned back to screen and repeated the question to May's brother, this time aloud.

"Max, is Drew May's boyfriend?" she asked.

"No, but he should be," the 10-year-old replied frankly. May's face turned beet red, and she gasped.

"Max!" she squeaked loudly.

"All right, what did I miss?" Drew said, suddenly appearing on the screen and seating himself next to May. Her blushed deepened, and Misty wanted to laugh; she had to admit, they made a cute couple sitting side-by-side.

"Oh, hey Drew! Long time, no see," Ash said with a friendly grin. "We were just talking about how you aren't May's boyfriend, whatever that means." The silence that followed was sickeningly awkward. Drew raised his eyebrows and cast his rival a wondering glace. She, however, was avoiding eye contact with him at all costs, with an 'Oh Arceus, why?' look painted on her face. Max had slapped his hand over his mouth, physically having to stop himself from busting up into laughter. Ash looked clueless as ever, while Misty was giving him the death glare. Pikachu breathed his own name out in exasperation at his trainer's cluelessness.

Figuring since she had been the first to inquire, Misty decided she would step in and save May from further embarrassment: "_Anyway_, May, Max, what are you going to do now?" May inhaled deeply to calm herself down and lessen the humiliation that had crawled up her neck.

"We don't know, yet," she said. "Wallace has suggested we leave and find somewhere else to stay, temporarily. Cynthia and Lance asked the same of all their gym leaders, too. I think the only region that hasn't received a evacuation order is Unova since there hasn't been any attacks there, yet, and the shutdown of gyms there is just a precautionary measure..." Drew grumbled something incoherent under his breath.

"What was that?" Ash asked the green-haired coordinator.

"Nothing," May replied for him, pushing her rival's shoulder. "Drew's just being a conspiracy theorist."

"It's not a conspiracy theory," he cut in, sounding a little irritated.

"That attack in Sinnoh on Maylene Lillis proves that it is," Max jumped in.

"OK, OK, that's enough. Geez..." Misty said, shaking her head. "Back on topic: Do you guys at least have an idea where you might be headed? Ash and I still want to be in contact with you if you're all going away..." Delia Ketchum, at this precise moment, happened to walk by the room that Misty and her son resided and, overhearing this bit of the conversation, stopped to listen.

"Our parents are still trying to figure it out," May explained. "My mom was thinking about renting a place out in Littleroot, but Dad doesn't think that's enough: He wants to leave the region. Maybe to Unova. It's complicated."

"Oh! Well, if your family is looking to leave the region," Delia suddenly said, gliding her way into the room and the conversation. "Our home is small, but we'd love to have you all come out here, if you think that will make you safer."

"Really, Ms. Ketchum?" May asked, her eyes widening.

"That'd be awesome!" Max exclaimed. "May, we'd get to see Ash and Misty in person again!"

"Yes, it would be no problem," Delia insisted, waving her hand. "Besides, I love having company. I've always wanted to have a big Christmas gathering, but I've never had the opportunity..." Delia gestured for Misty and Ash to move so she could sit in the chair and more properly use the video telephone. "Now, if one of you will just grab your parents, I'll speak to them privately and try to work things out with them." Several minutes later, Caroline appeared on the screen, and though they had never met, the two women began to chat it up as if they had been friends for the longest time.

Ash and Misty, meanwhile, moved to the back of the room as the two mothers laughed over something insignificant before moving into the more serious business.

"Your mother certainly is eager," Misty remarked. Ash shrugged.

"She's lonely," he said simply. Misty glanced at him with an unreadable look in her eyes. She was about to ask why he thought that, but she stopped when she realized she already knew the answer.

.

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	5. IV: In Which Cynthia Connects the Dots

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Chapter IV: In Which Cynthia Connects The Dots

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"I refuse!" He rigidly closed his fists, feeling the sore ache from the resistant movement. "You shall no longer bend my will to yours. This has gone on long enough."

"Long enough indeed." Giovanni slowly turned to face him, a shadow of anger falling across his facial features. Behind him was a low-quality recording of the attack in Petalburg playing on loop; it seemed torturous to watch the events play out repeatedly, to watch that green-haired boy's face split open and see the blood consume nearly half of his expression. "You've proved to me time and time again that your will is powerful. Three times you have failed to complete the tasks I require of you. But, no matter. This is turning out to be quite an interesting story. Have you watched the news lately?"

He was silent in response. He instead struggled against the technological forces pitting against him, pushing him to defy his own conscience. Giovanni smirked.

"It's obvious you can't fight me much longer," the man said. "You will give in."

"_I will never give in!_"

Those last five words of insurgence echoed in the back of Ash's head and off into the distance when he awoke. He laid motionless for a long moment, his brown eyes dull with exhaustion. He lazily rolled over under his sheets to check his alarm clock: 9:17 a.m. Ash blinked and rubbed his eyes. It didn't make sense. He had gotten plenty of sleep. Why did he feel so tired?

As the trainer regained his sense of reality, he could smell the delicious waft of his mother's breakfast downstairs. Ash grinned and threw his covers off of him. He stretched, feeling every muscle stretch with ache in his body—not a pleasant feeling with which to wake up.

Nevertheless, the boy dressed himself and raked his fingers through his messy hair, unsuccessfully taming it. He glanced around, wondering where Pikachu had gone. The Electric-type was nowhere in sight, though, and Ash concluded he must have gone downstairs to eat without him. The trainer's stomach growled loudly and, grinning once again, he realized he should do the same.

Once he made it down to the dining room, he was greeted with a pleasant surprise: Several extra chairs had been pulled up to the table, and a host of familiar faces were occupying them.

"May! Max!" he exclaimed. He tackled the two siblings, who were seated beside each other, throwing his arms around them and hugging them tightly. Drew shot the bed-headed boy a wary but nevertheless irritated look as he affectionately ruffled May's brown hair. Misty noticed the coordinator's warning expression and smiled with profound amusement. Even Pikachu, who also had witnessed the show of jealousy from atop Misty's shoulder, chuckled in his own language.

"Good morning to you too, Ash," May laughed, though she was a little flustered by the attention she was receiving. Ash beamed and pulled back from her and her brother.

"When did you guys get here?" he asked, still with an excited tone. "We only talked to you last night..."

"We managed to catch a red-eye flight from Hoenn to Kanto," Norman answered. He and his wife were seated beside Delia and Daisy. Max nodded.

"Yeah, we only arrived here a couple of hours ago," the young boy added. "We slept on the plane, mostly."

"Man," Ash said, rubbing the back of his head. He looked to Misty and his mother. "Why didn't you guys wake me up?" Misty shrugged.

"Pikachu and I tried, but you were out-cold," the redhead explained.

May smiled and, resting her chin evenly across the palms of her hands, said, "Typical Ash. You haven't changed a bit."

"Typical May," Drew mocked."You sleep in, too." May cast her rival a slightly peeved glance, but she didn't say a word. Ash also turned his attention to the green-haired male, offering him a polite grin.

"Hey, good to see you're here, too," the trainer said, trying his best to be friendly. Although Drew had never openly expressed a dislike for Ash on the occasions they ran into each other in the Hoenn and Kanto regions, the coordinator had always been rather standoffish toward him in particular. There was no apparent reason for this; at least, not one that Ash could remember.

Drew flicked his hair. "Well, better here than somewhere dangerous." He said this ironically, though May was the only one to catch it. Her sapphire eyes fixated on him apprehensively. He had been in a rather sulky mood since everyone had dismissed his theory about the attacks. Drew rose to his feet with his plate in hand.

"Thank you, Ms. Ketchum. You're an excellent cook," he complimented. He then left for the kitchen. Misty watched him go and, after only a moment's delay, also stood up. Pikachu jumped off her shoulder and returned to his trainer.

"Yes, thank you Ms. Ketchum. It was delicious," Misty agreed before following Drew into the kitchen.

Misty found the coordinator at the sink, rinsing off his plate. Mimey was waiting by anxiously. The Psychic-type didn't like it when others handled cleaning the dishes. That was _his_ job.

"Mimey, could you excuse us for a moment?" Misty asked the Barrier Pokémon politely.

"Mime!" The Mr. Mime seemed hesitant, but he nevertheless exited the area. Misty then, while mentally sorting out how she should approach the situation, joined Drew at the sink. The coordinator barely cast her a glance as she also held her plate under the running faucet.

"You know," she began casually, "there's no reason to be jealous." He rolled his eyes and flicked his hair again. Misty raised her eyebrows quizzically. What an odd habit.

"I'm not jealous of anything," he insisted dully, "except perhaps Ms. Ketchum's cooking skills. I should get her recipe for scrambled eyes." His voice was dripping with obvious sarcasm, and Misty let out a short, half-hearted laugh. So, he was a cynic. In that way, he reminded her of Gary Oak.

"_Please_," she said, dragging out the word, "I saw how you reacted when Ash put his arm around May. Don't look at me like that; you're not the first person to ever fall for their rival." Drew was silent for a long moment as he turned off the faucet. He then pivoted on his heel to face her. Misty couldn't help but notice the line of stitches that traveled up the side of his face and disappeared under his green bangs. It unnerved her, and she wondered whether the injury was a result of the attack on the Petalburg Gym two nights earlier.

"May's just my friend," he said with a straight face.

"And that's exactly what May and Ash are to each other," Misty assured with a shrug. "Trust me." In a break of his indifferent (perhaps even cold) demeanor, Drew smirked and, folding his arms, leaned against the counter.

"What? Are you his girlfriend?" he asked with a cocked eyebrow. She scoffed, though she became just the slightest bit flustered upon the suggestion.

"Ha! Yeah right," she replied. "You were there. Ash doesn't even know what a boyfriend is." Drew's lips tightened.

"Yeah," he said shortly. "Good luck on that one." Misty didn't bother to dispute the implication he was making, but she started to back away; she was getting the vibe that he wanted her to leave. She was beginning to regret coming in and trying to talk to him. She briefly wondered how a person as sunny and outgoing as May could get along with someone who seemed so reserved and snarky.

"Well," she said, knowing the tension was growing, "ditto to that for you and May." She turned to make her exit, but Drew interrupted her.

"Misty, right?" he inquired suddenly. The redhead slowly turned toward him again.

"Yes?" she answered. His stern expression melted into a smile and the edges around his stunning green eyes softened—and Misty realized the answer to her previous ponderings.

"Thanks," he said. The edge of Misty's lips tugged upward and she shifted her weight slightly to her left leg.

"No problem."

_**December 21st, 2001. Afternoon. Twinleaf Town.**_

"Psy?" The yellow Water-type tilted its head, obviously confused by the sudden presence of the piece of bread that had been tossed its way. "Duck?" The Psyduck continued to stare vacantly at the bit of food in front of it as Dawn, Barry, Kenny, and Zoey, who all had expressions of stupefied disbelief, looked on.

"You know," Kenny began, crouching down to get a better look at the Duck Pokémon, "I'm starting to wonder which Pokémon is legitimately more dim-witted: Psyduck or Slowpoke?"

"Well, you'd be a little slow too if you had a headache all the time," Dawn said, casting the Psyduck a sympathetic glance. "The poor thing."

"Psy?" The Pokémon tilted its head the other way, still looking at the bread. "Duck?" A collective sigh emerged from the group of trainers.

"As amusing and strangely depressing as this is," Zoey said, placing her hands on her hips as she straightened up. "Perhaps we should leave it alone and head back. I'm sure it'll eventually figure out what the bread is and eat it."

"I'm pretty sure one of those Starly will swoop down and pick it up before this Psyduck does," Kenny muttered under his breath, noticing the small flock of the Flying-type Pokémon circling above. He then stood up and said aloud in response to Zoey's suggestion, "I agree. I'm calling this feed the Psyducks afternoon activity a failure. We should rent a movie instead." Barry's expression visibly brightened upon his friend's idea.

"Yeah!" he exclaimed with a grin. "That new Pokéstar Studiosaction movie with Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan just went to DVD a couple of weeks ago! And the video store is only a couple of blocks away..." Dawn smiled, clasping her hands behind her back.

"All right, it's settled then," she proclaimed. "To the video store we go!"

"Psy?" The group of friends turned toward the water type with hopeful expressions. After a moment's delay, the Psyduck again merely tilted its head in the other direction. "Duck?" Zoey clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and shook her head.

"Let's go," she said. The three other trainers followed her away from the small pond and headed back toward the main path. No one had brought their bikes that afternoon because of the short walking distance between Dawn's home and the local park. Of course, that didn't stop the complaining.

"Man! I can't wait until I get my license," Barry said wistfully, putting his hands behind his head. "Next year, you'll never see me walkin' around anymore! I could just drive from city to city challenging gym leaders!"

"Arceus, the idea of you driving is terrifying," Kenny teased.

"Besides," Dawn added, "the traveling between the towns and cities is half the fun! You get to meet so many cool people and new Pokémon..." Zoey wasn't paying attention to the conversation. Instead, her eyes were fixated on the sky, which seemed to have suddenly and mysteriously darkened. It was strange; the local weatherman had said today was supposed to be sunny. Most of yesterday's light snowfall (much to every one's disappointment) had already melted before noon. Suddenly, a chilled gust of wind brushed past them.

"Geez, it sure got cold quick," Dawn remarked. "Weird, I've never seen the weather here turn so quickly."

"Yeah," Kenny seemed to agree. Zoey, who still wasn't really following her friends' conversation, suddenly spoke up.

"Does it seem ... quiet to you?" she asked, a little apprehensively. This offhanded question seemed to surprise her three companions.

"Well, now that you mention it," Kenny began, "I can't hear the Starly chirping anymore."

"Hey, it's probably just a reaction to the weather," Barry said dismissively. "Maybe it'll snow again, except this time it'll stick and we can have a snowball fight!" Before anyone could respond to the blonde trainer's excited proposition, from out of nowhere came a large blast of _something_ headed in Dawn's direction.

"Look out!" Kenny cried. He leapt and tackled Dawn to the ground, saving them both from being hit by whatever had come their way. Once the smoke from the impact of the salvo cleared, Kenny lifted himself off of Dawn and looked down upon her with concern.

"You OK?" he asked. She could only nod. The sudden impact had knocked the breath right out of her.

Meanwhile, both Zoey and Barry had instinctively retrieved a Pokéball from their waist, prepared to defend themselves if necessary. Their eyes were wildly searching the sky to see where the attack could have possibly come from. Then, Zoey finally caught sight of some armored Pokémon-like creature, shrouded in a dark mist and hovering above them. In its hand was another powerful-looking ball of dark energy.

"_The house was attacked by some really weird Pokémon; the fire was just a side effect of its Shadow Ball hitting some electrical wiring in the roof, I think._"

The words of May from the previous morning rushed back to Zoey, and she sucked in her breath with horror.

"That's it. That's what May was talking about..." she breathed. Barry snapped his head toward her.

"What?" he asked in both disbelief and confusion. Zoey didn't have time for reply as the Pokémon launched another attack at Dawn and Kenny, who were still down. The redhead enlarged the Pokéball in her hand.

"Gallade, use Psycho Cut!" she ordered. The Psychic-type emerged from its Pokéball with its blades already ablaze with power. He struck the Shadow Ball, slicing through it, which resulted in a dynamic explosion up in the air. Gallade fell to the ground, injured by the blast. The opposing Pokémon, however, was unharmed.

"Gallade!" Zoey cried with concern as the Blade Pokémon staggered to its feet again, still ready to battle. Barry, after overcoming his initial panic, then called out his Empoleon and ordered a Hydro Canon attack. Kenny and Dawn helped themselves up, and released their Breloom and Quilava respectively.

"Breloom! Use Mach Punch!"

"Quilava, Eruption!"

All of these moves, as powerful as they were, were ultimately futile against the unrecognizable Pokémon. It either simply deflected the blow or retaliated with another Shadow Ball. Zoey bit her lip anxiously. She knew something had to be done. The battle had only just begun, and all four of their Pokémon were already tired. Their mysterious foe, on the other hand, seemed completely fine.

Then, an idea came, almost like a revelation:

"Quilava, use Swift, but aim for below its feet," she instructed Dawn's Pokémon. Although the redhead wasn't his trainer, the Fire-type obeyed her command. The armored Pokémon appeared confused upon Quilava's seemingly misguided onslaught of sharply pronged projectiles, and Barry, who had picked up on Zoey's strategy, had his Empoleon follow up with a direct attack: Hydro Pump. The powerful Water-type move hit the Pokémon head-on, and in the small time frame during which it was being bombarded by the rush of water, Dawn had retrieved her Pokéball for Parchirisu and called him out.

"Parchirisu, use Discharge!"

"Chu-pa!" the EleSquirrel Pokémon cried as he unleashed his powerful Electric-type move. The attacking Pokémon, already weakened and wet from the Hydro Pump, was dealt especial damage from the Discharge attack. The four trainers were forced to cover their eyes from the blinding flash that resulted from the move. However, once the light disappeared and the trainers lowered their arms, they discovered the Pokémon was nowhere to be found. It had fled.

They weren't ready to call it over, yet. All four teens remained highly alert, and their five Pokémon were also ready to continue the fight should their adversary return. Parchirisu's yellow cheeks were still sparking with electricity from its Discharge attack. Nevertheless, the tension of the moment began to subside when nothing happened after a couple of minutes. Zoey exchanged a quick glance with Dawn and noticed that she seemed to be limping; she must have somehow hurt her leg earlier when Kenny had thrown himself and her to the ground as to avoid the Shadow Ball attack.

Barry was the first to return his Pokémon. The rest watched him cautiously, still too apprehensive to completely lower their defenses.

After a long moment of silence, the blonde turned to them and asked in a uncharacteristically low and calm voice, "So what do we do now?"

_**December 21st, 2001. Late Afternoon. Veilstone City.**_

"Well, Lance just sent me the results from the test in Ecruteak," Cynthia commented, reading an email on her PokéTablet. Steven cast her a cautious glance.

"And... ?"

The Sinnoh Champion sighed and turned off the device. They were riding in the back of the Veilstone Officer Jenny's police cruiser, which was on its way to the scene where the third attack had occurred yesterday. The couple was only now getting around to checking up on Maylene since Cynthia had been occupied with trying to ensure the safety of her other gym leaders the previous evening.

"You were right," she said plainly. "Morty confirmed: The residue that agent found near Misty's bedroom was from a Shadow Ball."

"So the incidents are definitely connected, then."

Cynthia nodded, but said nothing as her eyes grew cloudy and distant. Steven frowned and set his hand on top of hers.

"Please don't do this to yourself, Cyndi," he pleaded. "It's not good for your health."

Cynthia shook her head.

"I just don't know where to go from here."

"Neither do I," her husband admitted, "but perhaps Maylene and the other two Veilstone residents will be able to help the G-Men further in their investigation." Cynthia seemed to ignore him as she stared pensively out the window and at the beautiful countryside. The landscape was covered in small patches of snow here and there, but for the most part was still very green. It was an unusual, but nevertheless beautiful combination.

"Speaking of which, Officer Jenny, do you by chance know the names of the Veilstone residents who were a part of the attack?" Cynthia asked after a long moment. The blue-haired woman glanced back at the Champion from the passenger's seat.

"One of them was Maylene Lillis's boyfriend, named Reggie Rebolledo. The other was his younger brother, Paul Rebolledo. Maylene was apparently visiting the family for breakfast yesterday morning when they were ambushed," she answered. Cynthia straightened up suddenly.

"I'm sorry, did you say Paul Rebolledo?" the blonde asked. Officer Jenny nodded. Steven carefully examined his wife, noticing her surprised and perhaps even disturbed expression.

"Is something wrong?" he asked. Cynthia shook her head.

"Nothing," she replied, "I recognize the name, that's all. I battled him once a while ago, and I also watched his match against-" She stopped, her eyes widening.

"Match against... ?" Steven prompted further.

"No one. Never mind," Cynthia replied hastily. Before Steven could question her unusual behavior, the car had stopped. Officer Jenny and her companion both exited the vehicle, and Cynthia and Steven followed suit. The damaged home was surrounded by yellow caution tape and several low-profile G-Men agents assigned to this particular case, as well as some other members of the local Veilstone Police Department.

"Did this home catch fire, too?" Steven asked one of the G-Men agents as he passed by. The agent shook his head.

"No," he replied before his voice lowered. "However, the accounts Maylene Lillis and the Rebolledo brothers gave us is very similar to the accounts made by the Maple family. The G-Men division in Hoenn sent us their report yesterday evening, and they have the same elements: a mysterious Pokémon, Shadow Ball attacks... and there _is_ a very large hole on the side of the house apparently caused by one of this Pokémon's Shadow Balls, but there was nothing that sparked flames..."

"Was anyone hurt?" Cynthia asked.

"No," the agent again said. "All three sustained no injuries. Pretty incredible, actually. Apparently, the younger of the brothers, Paul Rebolledo, managed to fight off the Pokémon with his Magmortar and Electivire. He is a remarkably strong trainer."

"Indeed," Cynthia mused. "Are they home?" Before the agent could reply, Reggie stepped outside, thus answering the Sinnoh Champion's question.

"Mrs. Stone," Reggie greeted politely. "Reggie Rebolledo." He shook her hand.

"Please, just call me as Cynthia," she said with a half-smile.

"Of course," the breeder replied.

"Reggie," Steven began, also going in to shake the purple-haired man's hand. "Steven Stone, Cynthia's husband. We are so relieved to learn everyone involved was unharmed. And, our deepest apologies that you and your brother had to be dragged into this." Reggie shook his head.

"Please, don't apologize," he said. "Anyway, I presume you're here to talk to us about the incident."

"Yes," Cynthia said with a nod. "Is Maylene with you?"

"Mhm," Reggie affirmed. "Perhaps they didn't tell you, but Maylene is my-"

"-Girlfriend," Steven finished. Reggie nodded.

"Right," he said. Reggie led the couple inside the home, where there was less commotion and more privacy. Once inside, Cynthia noted that what the agent said was true, and there was a gaping hole in the side of the household, though it had a makeshift large bed sheet covering it. Maylene was sitting beside her Lucario on the sofa. Several other Pokémon Reggie was caring for were wandering around, but Paul appeared to be nowhere in sight. Reggie disappeared upstairs, apparently to retrieve his younger brother.

"Maylene," Cynthia greeted warmly as she approached the pink-haired woman. Cynthia felt terribly guilty that Maylene was the one gym leader this mysterious Pokémon had apparently picked to target in Sinnoh; Maylene was the newest of the gym leaders she oversaw and, from what Cynthia understood, had considered resigning from the position only six months after starting it for reasons unexplained to the Champion. Cynthia feared this incident might drive the Fighting-type gym leader back to those considerations (though she honestly wouldn't blame her if it did).

"Champion Cynthia," Maylene regarded, rising to her feet. She seemed intimidated by her presence. It was then that Reggie rejoined the group, this time with Paul in tow.

"Paul, it's a pleasure to see you again," Cynthia said.

"Same." He lifted his head slightly and, with a hardened gaze, asked, "You're here to ask questions, aren't you? There isn't anything that hasn't already been said."

"We just want to hear your account from all of you and not a written report," Cynthia explained. Paul plopped down on the sofa, near Maylene's Lucario.

"There isn't much to say," he said, folding his arms, "Maylene arrived, and that armored Pokémon showed up. It disappeared after a couple minutes of battle."

"An armored Pokémon," Steven repeated.

"The same the Maples saw," Cynthia added.

"So it's true then: What happened here is connected to what happened in Hoenn and Kanto?" Reggie asked. Cynthia nodded.

"We're afraid so," she said. "It appears this is an attack on the National Pokémon League. There is no apparent reason why, yet, but it seems someone is trying to make a statement through targeting gym leaders." Maylene and Reggie exchanged a quick glance; they looked like they both had something to say, but they weren't willing to share what it was, yet.

"Why Maylene?" Paul asked gruffly. "Maylene has barely been a gym leader for a year. Wouldn't it have made more sense for this Pokémon to go after someone more well-known, like Fantina or Roark?"

"We unfortunately don't have all the answers," Steven confessed. "The G-Men are still investigating." Reggie looked to his brother apprehensively.

"Paul," he said, attempting to sound casual. "Why don't you go make some tea for our guests?" The young trainer looked irritated upon this request, but stood up anyway.

"Oh, that's quite all right," Cynthia cut in, gesturing for him to sit back down.

"No, I insist," Reggie said, casting the Champion a furtive glance. His eyebrows were furrowed, and his expression was firm. Cynthia backed down, realizing that for whatever reason, Reggie wanted his brother to temporarily exit the conversation. Paul rolled his eyes, annoyed by the indecision, and begrudgingly stood up again. Once he had left, Reggie turned to face Cynthia and Steven.

"I'm sorry, but Maylene and I were discussing this last night, and we haven't talked to Paul about it, yet," he said, his voice lowering. "I'm trying to protect him, you see."

"We understand," Cynthia said, nodding. "What's on your mind?" Before either Maylene or Reggie could reply, the G-Men agent whom the couple had spoken to earlier poked his head inside the front door.

"My apologies for interrupting," he began, "but we just received a phone call from someone looking to speak to Cynthia."

"Please tell them they'll have to wait for a few minutes," Cynthia replied tersely.

"They say it's serious."

An uncharacteristically irritated look crossed Cynthia's face. Every phone call she had received for the past few days had been "serious." Not that they necessarily weren't, but it was usually a panicked gym leader, or Lance or Wallace or even Alder with a new theory or nugget of information to report.

"Don't worry," Steven said kindly as he lightly touched his wife's shoulder, sensing her frustration. "Allow me to take the call." Cynthia nodded and Steven rose to his feet, following the agent outside. After they disappeared from sight, Cynthia turned toward Maylene and Reggie once again.

"Go on," the Champion said. Maylene cleared her throat.

"Well..." she began tentatively,"... from what Reggie and I saw... this Pokémon was not after me." Cynthia inhaled sharply. She already had an idea where this conversation was going.

"Is that so?" the blonde asked, her voice still even.

"Yes," Maylene said, nodding. "Not once did that Pokémon aim an attack at me or my Pokémon. Or at Reggie, for that matter. It deflected any attacks we ordered our Pokémon to use, certainly, but its main focus was on... well, Paul."

"_... When May and I went outside to help fight off the Pokémon, it seemed to completely lose interest in Norman and Caroline and their Pokémon. In fact, it aimed its last attack directly at May and Max themselves._"

"Are you sure?" Cynthia asked, very clearly remembering the conversation at the Maple household the previous day. Her tone had grown a little more grave.

"There's no doubt in my mind that thing was specifically after Paul," Reggie said. "It wanted nothing to do with Maylene and me. I don't think Paul noticed. He was too occupied battling it off." Cynthia lifted her hand to her chin ponderously, allowing this new information to sink in.

Paul returned to the living room empty-handed.

"Reggie, we don't _have_ any tea," he said flatly.

"Oh, that's quite all right," Cynthia said, waving her hand dismissively, though her voice wavered slightly. At that particular moment, Steven re-entered the home with a stern expression painted on his face. His darkened disposition demanded the attention of the entire room.

"Cynthia," he began, "there's been a fourth attack. Another one in Sinnoh."

"_What_?" Cynthia exclaimed, sounding both appalled and terrified. "Which gym leader?" Steven shook his head.

"No gym leader," he replied. "It was in Twinleaf Town on a group of young trainers."

"Are they OK?" she asked.

"Yes, thankfully," Steven answered. "Although, one is receiving very minor medical attention at the local hospital."

"Do you have names?"

"They only gave me one: Dawn Berlitz. She's the one who's being treated." Maylene gasped, and Reggie perked up in alarm. Even Paul seemed to react, though subtly; his lips tightened, and he balled his fists. Cynthia glanced at the group, her eyebrows raised.

"Do you all know her?" she asked.

"I met her a while ago," Maylene answered. "I battled her and her friend Ash in a match for the Cobble Badge." Cynthia looked as though she had been struck.

"Ash? You mean Ash Ketchum?" she asked in disbelief. Maylene nodded. Steven straightened up slightly as he, too, began to connect the dots in his head.

"Yeah," Paul added, shoving his hands into his pockets. "They used to travel together." Cynthia snapped her head toward the young trainer.

"You... You were Ash Ketchum's rival, weren't you? You battled him in the Lily of the Valley Conference," she said, though it seemed she was merely stating this aloud for her own information.

"Yes... ?" Paul replied, unsure of where she was going with this. Disturbed by this new revelation, Cynthia and Steven exchanged quick glances as the Sinnoh Champion rose to her feet.

"I'm sorry, but Reggie, do you happen to have a working video phone that I may use?" she asked urgently. "I need to make a few phone calls, face-to-face." Reggie nodded.

"Yes, of course. It's in the next room over," he said.

"Good, thank you," she said, before turning to her husband again. "Steven, please ask whomever you were just talking to get me the contact information of the hospital where Dawn Berlitz is currently admitted. I need to speak with her and the other trainers who were attacked immediately. Afterward, I need you to call Lance and the others: I want someone digging into Ash Ketchum's past and pulling up any information that may tell us why or how he could be connected to these attacks. I think we underestimated just how smart Drew Hayden is."

_**December 21st, 2001. Late Afternoon. Twinleaf Town.**_

"This is stupid," Dawn growled as Zoey wheeled her down the hallway of the Twinleaf hospital with Kenny, Barry, Johanna, and Palmer following closely behind. "I do _not_ need a wheelchair. Seriously, this is overkill; my ankle was twisted, that's all!"

"The doctor said he wanted you to stay off of your feet, sweetie," Johanna reminded kindly.

"Right, it'll only get worse if you walk on it," Palmer added. After the armored Pokémon had disappeared, the teens decided the best course of action was to call the Twinleaf Police, figuring that if Zoey was correct in her assumption that if the Pokémon who attacked them was the same one that had attacked the Maples, then someone ought to know about it. Things got out of hand at that point: Dawn was transported to the hospital to get her leg checked out, Johanna and Palmer rushed to meet them once they learned their respective daughter and son were victims of the latest attack, the young trainers were interviewed multiple times by the Twinleaf Officer Jenny and other investigators, and now they had been informed that someone else (the hospital staff did not reveal who) was wanting to talk to them via video phone.

"Here we are," the nurse said, guiding them to a video phone booth. "Just press the red button to pick up the call that's on hold." The four teens and two adults crammed into the small phone booth, and Palmer shut the curtain behind them.

Dawn was the one who reached out and connected the call. The six were very surprised to see the Sinnoh Champion's face appear on the screen.

"Champion Cynthia!" Barry expressed in disbelief. "Wow, it really is you! Day = Made."

"Sure, never mind that were ambushed this afternoon," Zoey muttered under her breath.

"Well, I'm glad to see you all seem well," Cynthia replied, a little stiffly. "My apologies, can I get all of your names?"

"Sure. I'm Dawn Berlitz. We've met before," Dawn explained.

"I remember," Cynthia said, attempting a smile. "I heard you were receiving medical attention. Are you all right?

"Yes," Dawn answered, nodding. "Just a sprained ankle; no need to worry."

"Ah." Cynthia looked to the three other three trainers. "And who are all of you, might I ask?"

"My name is Zoey Williams," Zoey replied. "I'm a coordinator from Snowpoint City."

"Yup! And I'm Barry Pearl, Pokémon trainer!" Barry said, enthused that he was speaking to the Sinnoh Champion. "And this here's my buddy Kenny Hudson! He and I and Dawn are all from Twinleaf!"

"They were the ones who were attacked," Johanna clarified. "Oh, and I am Johanna Berlitz, Dawn's mother."

"And you know me," Palmer added with a grin. "Barry's my son."

"Oh, I could never forget you, Palmer." Cynthia, in a temporary break of her tense mood, let out a light laugh. She was then silent for a couple of lingering moments as she continued writing out her notes from the conversation. Once she had finished, she looked back up to the group and continued, "Please allow me to explain: The G-Men have been extensively investigating this string of attacks, and I have few important questions to ask of you, if you wouldn't mind."

"Um, sure," Dawn said.

"You were battling a strange, armored Pokémon, correct?" Cynthia asked. The group nodded. "Was that Pokémon aiming for anyone in particular?" This follow-up question caught the young trainers off-guard, because it was new and surprisingly relevant.

"Well... yes, actually," Zoey admitted, hesitant. "That Pokémon shot its Shadow Ball at Dawn twice."

"The first attack was aimed directly at Dawn, in fact," Kenny added.

"Right!" Barry said, nodding quickly in agreement. "That was how she hurt her ankle! Because Kenny pushed her out of the way, and she landed on her leg funny!" Johanna shifted uncomfortably in the background. Dawn was holding herself together well, but also seemed alarmed by the scary implications of her friends' accounts.

"Just as I thought," Cynthia mused.

"Just as you thought... ?" Zoey inquired, disturbed.

"Dawn, you know Ash Ketchum, correct?" Cynthia continued, leaving Zoey's question unanswered. Dawn blinked in surprise.

"Yeah," she replied. "He's one of my best friends. He traveled with me and our other friend, Brock Harrison, throughout Sinnoh for a while." Dawn inclined her head slightly. "But, why do you wanna know about Ash?" Instead of answering her question, Cynthia asked another:

"Do the rest of you also know him?" she asked, addressing the three other young trainers.

"Well, I can't speak for Barry and Kenny," Zoey began, "but I consider Ash my friend, though I mostly know him by association with Dawn."

"Same," Kenny replied.

"Well, _I_ know Ash," Barry said, sounding a little indignant. "He was my rival." This seemed to grab Cynthia's attention.

"Did the Pokémon direct any attacks at you?" she asked.

"No."

"Hm," she intoned, her interest declining. "By chance, do any of you know how long he had a rivalry with Paul Rebolledo?" Dawn was starting to become confused, and concerned, over all these familiar names Cynthia kept dropping in the conversation.

"They met almost literally after Ash got to Sinnoh, I think," Dawn answered.

"Were they friends?"

"Ha! Paul and Ash friends?" Dawn scoffed. "Do you remember how they argued like crazy at the Pokémon Center near Amity Square? They hated each other's guts when they first met. Although, they parted on pretty good terms, from what Ash told me."

"They had a relatively well-known rivalry, though, didn't they?" Cynthia asked.

"I mean, it wasn't Drew Hayden-May Maple status," Dawn replied with a shrug, "but, yeah, for people who follow that sort of thing, they'd heard about it."

"I'm sorry, you know Drew and May?" Cynthia asked, her interest piqued once again.

"_We_," Dawn gestured to Zoey and herself, "know May. We met Drew over the phone yesterday when we called to talk to May about what happened in Hoenn."

"Do you happen to know Misty Waterflower, too, then?" Realization cast its shadow over the four faces of the teens, and they fell into a sort of stunned silence as they finally began to understand why Cynthia was asking all these seemingly odd questions.

"No, but... Ash does," Dawn replied reluctantly.

_**December 21st, 2001. Sunset. Indigo Plateau.**_

The place was an absolute mess. Various files, photos, and print-outs were strewn carelessly about the desk, and some had fallen in heaps to the ground. Leaf didn't seem to mind, however, as she gnawed on the end of her pen, staring at the computer screen in front of her and sifting through online trainer databases, searching for statistics and articles about Ash Ketchum. Lance had explained to her that Cynthia and Steven had come to the conclusion that Ash was somehow connected to the attacks throughout the various regions. Why? Answering that question was her job.

"Any luck, Leaf?" Lance asked, suddenly appearing behind the teen girl, having returned from other business.

"Well, Ash's got a fairly impressive track record," Leaf mumbled, not even bothering to turn around and face him. "Top 16 in the Indigo League Conference, Champion of the Orange League, Top 8 in the Silver Conference, Top 8 in the Ever Grande Conference, Champion of the Kanto Battle Frontier, Top 4 in the Lily of the Valley Conference... I had no idea he was so talented. The last I remember about this kid was how he slept in on the day we were supposed to get our starter Pokémon from Professor Oak. He missed the morning ceremonies, but Oak's grandson, Gary, later told me he ended up getting a Pikachu rather than one of the standard Kanto starters. Hadn't thought of him for years, 'till I found that photo in Misty's bedroom."

"Yes, well," Lance began matter-of-factly, "that Ash Ketchum is a strong trainer tells us nothing about how he's connected to these attacks."

"I know," Leaf said, pivoting on her chair. "You didn't let me finish." Lance's lips tightened.

"Go on, then."

"Well..." Leaf turned back to her computer, pulling up several windows. "His name actually comes up several times in the G-Men's classified database. Look, here in late 1998, his mother, Delia Ketchum, was kidnapped by the legendary Entei in Greenfield, Johto. He and his friends—one of them notably being Misty Waterflower—stopped a colony of Unknown from warping the city and saved his mom and a little girl named Molly Hale. In 1999, he helped solve the Deoxys/Rayquaza crisis in La Rousse, Hoenn. May and Max Maple were among his traveling companions at that time. In 2000, he traveled to Michina Town, Sinnoh and stopped _Arceus himself_ from an angry rampage throughout the area. And, you guessed it, Dawn Berlitz happened to be with him then. I mean, seriously, has someone not been monitoring our database? Most of these were filed before we started transitioning to digital. Shouldn't someone have red-flagged this kid while they were digitizing these reports?"

"It doesn't matter what should have happened," Lance said plainly, shaking his head. "What matters is what needs to happen now. What you're telling me is peculiar, for sure, but I'm not sure that it makes anything more clear to me. How does Paul Rebolledo fit into this? Moreover, why hasn't Brock Harrison, who's been a long-time traveling companion of Ash, been targeted yet?" Leaf sighed, frustrated.

"I don't know. Maybe whoever's behind these attacks isn't necessarily after Ash's former traveling companions, but people with whom he is close. And, who knows, maybe Brock Harrison's next. Someone should actually _talk_ to Ash about this and tell him to get together a list of people who may be in danger," she said.

"Steven said Cynthia was planning on calling Ash later this evening when I last spoke with him," Lance informed. "And, did you not read the report Cynthia recorded from her interview with Dawn Berlitz and the three other trainers in Twinleaf? Paul and Ash were _not_ close; they were rivals, but they did not get along well."

"No one else knows that," Leaf pointed out.

"Fair," Lance mused.

"Anyway, my point is there's something very special about Ash Ketchum. Which is why..." Leaf paused and began shuffling through the many piles of papers on her desk until she finally picked out a folder with an old G-Men report inside—it, apparently, had yet to be moved onto the computer—and handed it to Lance. "... this particular file from June 1998 caught my attention. That was the second year Ash was a trainer, before any of the other crazy stuff with Entei, the Deoxys, etc. happened. Ash Ketchum and friends visited Shamouti Island, the center of culture in the Orange Islands. The Shamouti people apparently named Ash the Chosen One, but the file doesn't go into much detail about it. It does say, though, how he freed the legendary Moltres and Zapdos from the Pokémon Collector, Lawrence III, and prevented him from capturing Articuno and Lugia." Lance was silent for a long moment as his eyes scanned over the file.

"Leaf," he began after she finished, "you can't honestly believe Ash is this so-called Chosen One. That's just an old legend that's been passed down generation to generation among the Shamouti people."

"No, I don't," Leaf replied frankly. "But, I'm going to investigate it further." She swiveled toward her computer once again, delving back into her work. Lance sighed. He could feel a headache coming on.

_**December 21st, 2001. Early Evening. Pallet Town.**_

"_Is it a fluke or is it yet another incident of a cross-regional string of attacks that up to this point had been solely directed toward registered gym leaders of the National Pokémon League? We're here live in front of the Twinleaf Town Hospital, where a trainer is reportedly being treated for minor medical injuries after a fourth attack, which our sources now tell us is not the work of a human arsonist, but an unidentified Pokémon_..."**  
**

"Well, looks like the media finally picked up that it's a Pokémon," Drew mused aloud. He, along with the Ketchums, Maples, Waterflowers, Oaks, and lone Sketchit, were situated in front of the television set in the Ketchum residence's living room. Tracey, Gary, and Professor Oak had again visited for dinner that evening as they had when Ash first arrived home and turned on the news station when the Professor received a message from one of his aides telling him that there had been a fourth attack.

"Wonder who let that slip?" Gary asked rhetorically. He and the others had been updated earlier about what really happened at the Maple residence in Hoenn a couple of nights before.

"The league wouldn't have been able to hide it forever," Caroline commented, "not with the increasing number of victims." Suddenly, the Ketchums' video phone began going off in the next room. Delia rose to her feet and left to answer the call.

"_... The Officer Jenny of Twinleaf will not release the names of the four trainers who were allegedly attacked as they are all minors, but said they are all from the Sinnoh region and are-_"

Delia suddenly reappeared in the doorway.

"Ash, there's someone looking to talk to you, specifically," she informed. Ash glanced up.

"Who?" he asked.

"She said her name is Cynthia Stone." This caught the attention of nearly everyone in front of the TV.

"Arceus," Gary muttered under his breath.

"Cynthia Stone!" Misty exclaimed, her eyes wide. "Isn't that the Champion of Sinnoh? Why does she want to talk to Ash?"

"I'm not sure. She didn't say," Delia replied. Ash's expression deadpanned, and he stood up, leaving behind the large group to answer the call. Everyone in the living room awkwardly sat motionless for a moment, until they all also stood up and followed him. Ash sat down in front of the old video phone in the other room, preparing to take the call, as everyone else gathered curiously near the doorway where Delia stood.

"Hey, Cynthia," Ash regarded politely when her face appeared on the screen.

"Ash, it's been a while," she said with a forced smile. "I'm afraid I'm not calling for pleasure, however. There is... is that Drew Hayden with you?" Drew, who was standing off to the side with the others, looked comparable to a Deerling in the headlights when his name was mentioned.

"Yeah," Ash replied, glancing back at the coordinator. "He and the Maples came out here this morning."

"Who all is with you?"

"Um..." Ash had to look back again to name all the people currently visiting. "My mom, Daisy and Misty Waterflower, Professor Oak, Gary Oak, Tracey Sketchit... Oh, and, uh, Drew and the Maples of course."

"Well, they all probably should be a part of this conversation if they're close enough with your family to be visiting," Cynthia commented frankly. Taking that as an invitation, the eleven people hanging back in the room gathered more closely around the video phone.

"Drew," Cynthia began once the group had settled, "regarding the attacks for the past of couple, I and the other Champions you and the Maples spoke to yesterday must humbly admit that you were right and we were wrong." Drew perked up in surprise, but he said nothing. He did, however, cast a wary glance at Ash, knowing exactly where the conversation was now headed.

"Right about what?" Misty inquired. Cynthia paused for a brief moment, taking in a deep breath.

"That these attacks are not directed at gym leaders," she said plainly. "We now have reason to believe that they are aimed at people who are in connection with Ash Ketchum."

"In connection with _me_?" Ash said, pointing to himself in alarm.

"But, how?" Tracey asked.

"Allow me to explain in the simplest way I can," Cynthia began. "The first attack was at the Cerulean Gym, which is owned by the Waterflower sisters. The gym leader, Misty Waterflower used to travel with Ash Ketchum, correct?" A nod from Misty. Cynthia continued, "Two nights later, an attack in Hoenn, this time on the Maple family. The G-Men interpreted this as a show of defiance against the National Pokémon League as Norman Maple is also a gym leader. But Drew Hayden pointed out what we couldn't see: that the mysterious Pokémon who attacked the Maples was not interested in Norman at all; it was instead focused on his children, May and Max, who both also traveled with Ash Ketchum. In Veilstone City, the third attack occurred after Maylene Lillis visited one of the local residences, occupied by two brothers whom you, Ash, may know very well..." Ash straightened up suddenly.

"Paul and Reggie!" he exclaimed in realization.

"Right," Cynthia said, nodding. "However, with Maylene present at the attack, the G-Men were again led to believe that it was gym leaders who were being targeted. But, once Steven and I had the chance to actually sit down with Maylene and the Rebolledos, they revealed a story very similar to what Drew told us: That is, the Pokémon who attacked them was not after Maylene. In this case, it wanted Paul Rebolledo."

"Paul Rebolledo..." Gary mumbled to himself before looking to Ash. "You told me about him, right after you arrived in Pallet. He was one of your rivals in Sinnoh, wasn't he?" Ash nodded, temporarily unable to find words to speak.

"As for the most recent attack..." Cynthia continued, her voice trailing off suddenly, testing whether anyone would be able to pick up on whom she was hinting at. May inhaled sharply.

"Twinleaf Town. That's where Dawn lives, isn't it?" she asked. Ash's fists balled up, but he again said nothing.

"Yes, it was her," Cynthia affirmed. "And she was with three other trainers whose names you may recognize, Ash..." Cynthia paused, sifting through her notes. "... Zoey Williams, Barry Pearl, and Kenny Hudson?" Ash looked struck with horror.

"Yeah," he said breathlessly, "I know all of them."

"Are they all right?" May asked, sounding a little panicked.

"All are well," Cynthia said reassuringly. "Dawn Berlitz was being treated for a sprained ankle earlier, but no one was seriously hurt." Delia shook her head.

"I don't understand," she began, "why is someone after all these people Ash knows?"

"We're not sure yet," Cynthia confessed. "One of the G-Men's agents, Ms. Greene, is currently looking into that. Ms. Greene made a very important recommendation, however: Ash, I need you to compile a list of all the people whom you're close with and who may be in danger. Rivals, friends, traveling companions... With the way things are going, it will not be long before someone else is targeted. Lance is afraid Brock Harrison may be next, but it really could be anyone you know. I am flying out to Kanto tomorrow to see you in person, and I will pick up this list from you then and handle it accordingly."

"All right," Ash agreed with a curt nod. "What about Dawn and the Paul and the others, though?"

"They're going to be moved to another location under the protection of the G-Men," Cynthia replied simply. Ash exchanged a tentative glance with his mother, and she nodded.

"Actually..." he began hesitantly.

"What is it?"

"Could you possibly move them out here? I mean, May and Max and Misty are already here, so why not get everyone is one place? That way, we can figure this whole thing together," Ash explained. Cynthia considered his proposition for a long moment, but she seemed unwilling to agree.

"How are you going to manage the addition of another ten or so people into your household?" Cynthia asked. "Plus all the people whom Ash deems may be in trouble?" Delia waved her hand dismissively.

"We'll manage," she said simply. Cynthia debated inwardly for a moment longer before heaving sigh of defeat.

"All right," the Champion finally conceded. "I will see to it that everyone is transported to Pallet Town, Kanto. I will see you in the morning."

And with that, the screen went blank.

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	6. V: In Which Leaf Proposes a Theory

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Chapter V: In Which Leaf Proposes A Theory

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_**December 22nd, 2001. After Midnight. Veilstone City.**_

Dawn stared blankly out the window of the car at the dim, empty streets in Veilstone City. Her friends were all lightly snoozing beside her in the backseat, but Dawn simply couldn't bring herself to fall asleep; there was too much on her mind. Her mother was in the passenger's side at the front of the car, and Palmer was driving them toward the Veilstone airport. Cynthia had again called the trainers yesterday evening, telling them to pack their bags and get to Veilstone City for a 3:30 a.m. flight to Virdian City in Kanto. Their ultimate destination was Pallet Town, to stay with Ash Ketchum and company.

In a twisted sort of way, she was excited. It had been a while since she'd last seen Ash in person. She just wished she and the others weren't meeting them under such awful circumstances.

"Hnnnnn..." Barry groaned in his sleep. He was drooling a bit, apparently dreaming. Dawn couldn't resist a giggle. Cynthia had also said she wanted Barry, Zoey, and Kenny to come with her to Kanto. Although they weren't the focus of the mysterious Pokémon's attack, the Champion feared they now could be considered targets since they had been present during the battle in Twinleaf. Better to be safe than sorry, Dawn supposed.

"All right, looks like we're here," Palmer announced quietly, pulling into the terminal. He reached over and gently shook Dawn's mother awake. "Johanna, get the kids up."

"Don't worry about it," Dawn said, straightening up as she realized that Palmer hadn't known she was awake. The young coordinator turned to her fellow trainers, also shaking them awake.

"Hey, guys, we're at the airport!" she said in a half-whisper. The three other teens stirred, stretching and yawning as they came to their senses.

"Man, already?" Kenny moaned, still exhausted.

"Don't complain. We'll be able to sleep on the plane once we board," Zoey said.

Palmer shifted the car's gear into neutral and exited the vehicle to help unload the trunk. Cynthia and Steven were waiting with the Rebolledo brothers and Maylene in front of the terminal, and Reggie and Steven jumped in to help. Dawn unlocked the car door beside her and pushed it open. She then grabbed the two crutches at her feet and awkwardly situated herself on them, stepping (with only one foot, of course) onto the pavement. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw Paul outside. The dark circles under his gray eyes indicated he had not gotten much sleep either.

"Why's Paul here?" Zoey inquired suspiciously, following Dawn outside of the car. The blunette breathed out in realization.

"Oh, duh," Dawn said, as though she were chastising herself. "That's why Cynthia was asking questions about him, too, yesterday. He and Reggie must've been a part of the attack in Veilstone. How come we didn't realize that before?" Zoey shrugged and went to retrieve her luggage.

"Dawn, what happened?" Reggie asked as he passed by, trying to make friendly conversation. Dawn smiled crookedly.

"Sprained ankle," she explained. "I'm not supposed to not walk on it for a week."

"Well, at least it's just that, and not something more serious," Paul commented from a short distance away. Dawn seemed surprised that he had spoken up; he didn't really engage in small talk, unless it had to do with battling or training.

"Yeah," Dawn said, nodding in agreement. She guessed if they were going to be staying under one roof for a while, then they may as well be civil to one another.

"Hey," Barry greeted with a grin, shaking off his sleepiness. "Didn't know you were here too, Paul. Guess that makes sense, since you and Ash had a real rivalry goin' on there when he was in Sinnoh."

"Hm," Paul grunted in response. Dawn perked up slightly.

"Oh? Did Cynthia and Steven tell you-" she began before he cut her off.

"-that these attacks are somehow in connection with Ash? Yeah, they told me," Paul finished for her, folding his arms. "His acquaintance is officially now way more trouble than it's worth." Something about the way he said that previous statement struck a bad chord with Kenny.

"Who _is_ this guy?" he asked in a low voice as he heaved his carry-on over his shoulder. Zoey cast a sideways glance at the male coordinator.

"That's Paul Rebolledo," she explained. "He battled Barry and Ash in the Lily of the Valley Conference."

"Huh," Kenny replied, though he still sounded a little put off. "I think I remember that now. Barry lost to him, right?"

"Think so," Zoey said.

Dawn, meanwhile, was struggling to get her backpack on her shoulders. She was not used to the crutches yet, and they seemed to make everything more complicated than necessary, to the point where she was starting to miss the wheelchair. Maylene smiled sympathetically, reaching out and taking Dawn's backpack from her.

"Here, let me get that for you," Maylene said. "I've broken several limbs before in my training, and I've had to be on crutches several times. It's hard enough just carrying your own weight."

"Thank you," Dawn said gratefully. Paul casually meandered over to the trunk, deciding for whatever reason to also lend a helping hand. He grabbed a small blue suitcase—the Piplup keychain attached to one of the zippers gave away that it belonged to Dawn—and lifted it out, pulling up the handle.

"Oh, that's mine," Dawn said, crutching over toward him.

"I know," he replied flatly. When she waited around expectantly for a moment longer, he looked at her with his usual, stoic expression and said, "What? You obviously can't drag it around." It was then that Dawn realized he intended to take it for her.

"Oh... um... thanks," she said tentatively. Paul didn't reply, turning and leaving with her bag in tow.

"Geez, even when he's being nice, he's still a jerk," Zoey muttered under her breath as she approached her coordinating friend and rival.

"Zoey!" Dawn gasped, though quietly to ensure Paul wouldn't overhear them. "Don't..."

"Dawn." Zoey looked at her pointedly. She didn't have to say anything more; Dawn was already aware of her friend's distaste for the Veilstone trainer, despite the fact they had only met once. The meeting had not gone well.

"I know, I know," Dawn sighed. "I'm not saying you need to like him. I'm not exactly a fan either, but it's Christmas. Let's try to get along."

"You know, I don't really like him that much either," Kenny suddenly jumped into the conversation.

"Kenny, you haven't even talked to him," Dawn pointed out, now sounding irked. She wasn't sure why she was defending him; she supposed she felt compelled to do so since he'd done something slightly nice for her, and therefore wasn't deserving of her friends' murmuring. At least, not this time around. Kenny shrugged.

"He just rubs me the wrong way," he said.

"He rubs _everyone_ the wrong way," Dawn replied, waving her hand dismissively.

"Well, I like Paul," Barry declared, wedging himself between Kenny and Dawn.

"Barry, you like everyone," Kenny replied dryly, "even if they hate you."

"Paul doesn't hate me!"

"I apologize for sounding so hurried, but I suggest we get a move-on," Cynthia advised. The four teens cut their conversation short to listen to what she had to say. "You all still need to check in your bags, and security can take a while to get through, especially around the holidays."

"Right," Palmer said before turning toward his son. "Barry, be safe while we're apart."

"Palmer, are you not coming?" Steven asked politely.

"I have a later flight in a couple of days," Palmer explained. "The last-minuteness of the situation was difficult for us to work with, you understand. The most important thing was getting these kids here tonight."

"I see," Cynthia said. "Thank you."

"I'll be with them, Palmer," Johanna reminded reassuringly. "We'll be waiting for you in Pallet." The man grinned and replied:

"Hey, no need to worry, right?"

_**December 22nd, 2001. Before Sunrise. Pallet Town.**_

Ash had not slept all night. It wasn't that he didn't want to, or hadn't tried, but whenever he laid down in his bed, his mind began racing, and he found it impossible to even shut his eyes without troubling thoughts and fears making his head feel fuzzy. So instead, he had sat up against the window of his bedroom all evening, racking his brain for other trainers he'd meet on his journey. Pikachu had loyally stayed by his side the entire evening and was currently resting on his lap.

Right after his phone call with Cynthia had ended, Ash sat down and began making the list she requested of him. It wasn't terribly long, since half the people he normally would have added to it were already with him or were on their way to meet him: Misty Waterflower, May Maple, Max Maple, Gary Oak, Tracey Sketchit, Dawn Berlitz, Paul Rebolledo... Ultimately, he managed to only come up with five other names, Brock included.

The boy groaned loudly in frustration, rubbing his temples. Nearby, Drew shifted in his sleeping bag, and Ash froze. He silently scolded himself, reminding himself that he needed to remember he was now sharing his room with Max and Drew, and would likely be sharing it with several other people once they got there.

Decidedly tired of being cooped up in his room after a sleepless night, Ash determined maybe he would think more clearly if he went downstairs and had a glass of water. A change of scenery would do him good.

Gently, Ash lifted Pikachu off his lap and laid him on top of a nearby throw pillow. Then, as quietly as he could, he slowly rose to his feet with his notebook and pen in hand, and tip-toed to the other side of the room. He gently grabbed ahold of the doorknob, turning it. He winced when the wooden door squeaked as he opened it, and he glanced back to check whether he had woken up the others. He was relieved to see his roommates were undisturbed by the sound. From there, he crept down the stairs.

The living room was empty, but Delia had prepared several blow-up mattresses for when their many guests would arrive. Ash shook his head before heading into the kitchen. It was sort of ridiculous when he thought about it too much. By the end of the day, they'd probably have 30-plus people living in their four-bedroom home.

Once Ash had prepared himself a cool glass of water, he returned to the living room and plopped down on the sofa. He took a quick sip of his beverage and opened up his notebook to take a look at his list again. His greatest fear was that perhaps he'd omitted someone who could be the next victim of this mysterious Pokémon, but at the same time, he didn't want to go overboard and write down every single trainer he'd ever encountered in his life (he was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to name all of them, anyway) and spread the offered protection of the G-Men thin.

"Ash?" asked a feminine voice behind him. The boy turned to see May at the bottom of the stairs, looking at him curiously with her head tilted a little to the left. Her Skitty was cradled in her arms. Ash forced a smile.

"Hey, May," he said.

"What are you doing up?"

"Well, I guess I could ask you the same thing."

"You first."

Ash rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he said, "To be honest, I haven't been able to sleep." His hand dropped to his side. "How about you?" May shrugged.

"Skitty got out of her Pokéball and started mewling loudly and clawing at me," she explained. "I didn't want her waking Misty up, so I took her down here. I think she's hungry."

"Oh, well," Ash began, setting his notebook and water glass down. "I know we have tons of Pokémon food around, if Skitty wants some." May smiled.

"That'd be great, thank you," she said. Ash headed back into the kitchen, this time with May and Skitty in tow. He rummaged in the cupboard and pulled out a general brand of Pokémon food.

"It's nothing fancy, but most Pokémon like it all right," Ash said, scooping out some of the brown kibbles into a bowl.

"Well, if Skitty's hungry enough, then she'll eat it whether she likes it or not," May said, hugging the Kitten Pokémon closer to her. "Right, Skitty?"

"Nya!" the Normal-type replied cheerfully. Ash placed the bowl on the ground and Skitty happily jumped out of her trainer's arms and began devouring the food. Ash grinned. Leave it to a Pokémon to cheer him up when he was feeling down.

"So why can't you sleep?" May suddenly asked. Ash snapped his head up, looking at her with widened eyes.

"Oh... uh..."

"Sorry," May added hastily. "That was a dumb question. I'm not sure I'd be able to sleep either with all that you found out last night."

"Yeah..." Ash's voice trailed off. He didn't know what else to say.

"Just curious, have you made your list, yet?" May asked. Ash nodded. She continued, "Well, let's see it then." Ash nodded again and hurried to retrieve his notebook in the next room. He rejoined May a couple of moments later and tore out the page, handing it to her. May offered him a reassuring smile before her eyes began scanning over it. Ash had organized the list so each person he wrote down had their region and hometown next to their name. Probably so, May realized, Cynthia and the others would more easily be able to locate them and bring them to safety. Nevertheless, May was only able to recognize one of the five names Ash had written down:

Cilan Griffith . Striaton City . Unova

Iris Ajagara . Village of Dragons . Unova

Trip McGonnigal . Nuvema Town . Unova

Brock Harrison . Pewter City . Kanto

Richard Jayne . Frodomar City . Kanto

"So, who are all these people?" May asked, tracing her finger down the lined paper. "Besides Brock, of course."

"Oh! Well..." Ash leaned over to see whom she was looking at. "Cilan's one of my traveling companions in Unova. You'd like him; he's really good at cooking. He's also one of the gym leaders at the Striaton City Gym. Iris is a Dragon-type trainer, and she's my other Unova traveling companion. She likes to make fun of me a lot, but overall, she's pretty nice once she warms up to you. Trip's my rival. I met him right after arriving in Unova. I wasn't sure whether to add him at first, but then I thought, 'Well, if even Barry was attacked, maybe I should write Trip down, just in case.' Ritchie's an old buddy of mine from here in Kanto. He and I met at the Indigo League way back, and we've kept in touch since."

"Well, I can't wait to meet them," May said with a slight trill of laughter in her voice. It wasn't funny, but something about it made her chuckle. Ash had the textbook definition of a golden heart, and people and Pokémon alike flocked around him. He'd made more close friends in the four years he'd been on his journey than May had in her entire life. Ash inclined his head toward her, confused.

"Why?" he asked.

"Hm..." May intoned, thinking, "It's difficult to explain, but... just from experience, the people you choose to associate with are usually as good as you are. Like Misty and Dawn and Brock; they're all just plain good people. Does that make sense?"

"I... guess so," he said. His eyes scanned the list yet another time. "I just hope I'm not forgetting anyone." May's expression deadpanned.

"Don't do that to yourself, Ash," she warned.

"Do what?"

"Do _that_," May emphasized, since she really had no better way of explaining it. "I'm sure your list is fine and complete. Knowing you, if there was someone else who needed to be on it, you'd care too much about them to leave them off." Her words put Ash at ease.

"Thanks May," he said. "You have no idea how much I needed to hear that." May smiled, but said nothing as she handed the paper back to him. Suddenly, the sound of feet shuffling and a couple familiar voices could be heard from outside the home. May and Ash exchanged quick glances before they both grinned.

"Sounds like they're here," May commented. Their suspicions were confirmed when there was a knock at the front door. Ash made a B-line into the living room with the list in hand and threw the said door open.

"Dawn!" he exclaimed happily when he saw her, going in to hug her.

"Careful, she's on crutches," Johanna admonished.

"Oh, Mom, I'm fine," Dawn laughed, using one arm to return Ash's affectionate embrace while still managing to balance herself on her uninjured leg. May followed up behind Ash, and was positively beaming.

Oh, Dawn, I'm so glad you're OK!" she exclaimed, also embracing the blue-haired coordinator once Ash had backed off. "And Zoey!" May pulled the redhead into a group hug with herself and Dawn.

"It's good to see you, May," Zoey said, rolling her eyes, though she was also smiling. The commotion of the small reunion had drawn the rest of the household from their beds and downstairs.

"Well, isn't this touching," Drew said dryly when he saw the three coordinator girls together.

"Shut up, Drew," May sneered, though she was too elated from seeing her friends to really get angry.

"I'm so glad you all arrived safely," Delia piped up, coming into the room with her pink night robe wrapped around her. "Please, everyone come in, make yourselves comfortable. Oh, I can't imagine how hungry you all must be! It's a little early to do so, but I'll start making breakfast."

"Thank you, Ms. Ketchum," Steven said politely. "It's so kind of you to lend us your home as a sort of gathering point." Delia smiled and nodded before heading into the kitchen to start working.

"Oh, Delia, let me give you a hand," Caroline said, following her. Johanna set her suitcase on the ground near the door.

"Well, I might as well make myself useful," she said before joining Ash and May's mothers in the kitchen.

"You know, I have a feeling they're going to make excellent friends," Max remarked once Johanna had disappeared. Ash seemed to nod in agreement. It was then that Cynthia emerged from the back of the arriving party. The group fell silent as she approached Ash, who straightened up as she neared him.

"I presume you have something for me?" she asked amiably.

"Yup," Ash said, nodding. He handed her the now-slightly crumpled list, which Cynthia graciously accepted. "I wrote down everyone's hometowns, just in case," Ash continued as Cynthia's eyes scanned over the list. "I know for sure Cilan, Iris, and Brock are home right now, but I don't about Ritchie or Trip..."

"Since it's nearing Christmas, it's a fairly safe bet to say they are. I'll contact Alder and Lance and give these names to them. Hopefully, we can move everyone here by, at the absolute latest, tomorrow morning." Cynthia paused, her eyes examining the boy. "You look tired."

"Me? Oh, I'm all right," Ash said, waving his hand dismissively.

"He hasn't slept all night," May explained, knowing he obviously wouldn't admit there was something wrong. Ash shot her a peeved look.

"That true?" Cynthia inquired. Ash begrudgingly nodded. She continued, "Well, there's no need for you to keep yourself up with worry, if that's the problem."

Ash looked slightly doubtful, but he said nothing.

"Really," Cynthia insisted, "we'll take care of everything from this point."

**_December 22nd, 2001. Noon. Somewhere in the seas of the Orange Islands._**

Leaf's hair whipped in the wind as the yacht traveled at full speed toward a little island that was growing larger and larger with each passing second. She was leaning casually against the railing on deck, though she was starting to feel rather ill. She had a terrible history of seasickness, and despite taking all the precautions she could (i.e. motion sickness medicine), the dizzying vastness of the great open sea was beginning to take its effect on her. An accidental spray of salt water in her face only worsened her condition, and she headed into the cabin, sputtering.

Leaf dropped down onto the cushioned bench, throwing her arm over her eyes.

Suddenly, her PokéNav began ringing in her back pocket. Leaf's arm dropped down, revealing a rather irritated expression on her face. She pulled the device out and scowled when she saw who was calling her, but she still pressed the receive button.

"Hi, Lance," she greeted with an edge in her voice, staring at his little image on the video screen.

"You seem touchy this afternoon," Lance commented, noticing her attitude.

"I'm not feeling well."

"I'm sorry," Lance apologized, though he hardly sounded genuine. "I just got off the phone with Cynthia. She arrived at the Ketchum residence and picked up the list you suggested Ash make. He came up with five names: three from Unova and two from Kanto, one of them being Brock Harrison. I need you to escort him from Pewter City to Pallet Town."

"Can't you do it?"

"I'm already focused on finding the other person from Kanto whom Ash wrote down, Richard Jayne. Alder is tracking down the three kids from Unova."

"You guys are actually letting Alder _do_ something?"

"Cynthia's call, not mine."

"Right... well, I can't help you."

"And why is that?"

Leaf sighed, knowing the jig was up.

"Lance, I'm not at the Indigo Plateau," she confessed. "In fact, there's probably at least a hundred miles of ocean between me and the Kanto region right now." Lance's dark eyes fixated on her as his expression deadpanned.

"Leaf... Where _are_ you?"

"I'm on my way to Shamouti Island."

"_Why_?" He was visibly irritated now, and Leaf inwardly cringed, though she maintained a calm front.

"I wanted to do some research on Ash, and this Shamouti legend," she quickly explained. "I have a meeting scheduled with a girl named Melody Birnbaum, who officiated the traditional ceremony that declared Ash the Chosen One back in '97."

"Leaf, I need you to be here helping us in Kanto."

"I get it, and I'm sorry," the teen replied. "Trust me, I wouldn't be here if I didn't think it was important. Just tell Brock to walk himself to Pallet Town. He's 19-years-old. He'll be fine."

"Letting someone who could be considered a prime target by this mysterious Pokémon travel alone would be foolish. No, he needs an escort," Lance said plainly.

"Why me?"

"I don't need reasons, Leaf; I need obedience."

"_If you're looking for a strong trainer who could escort this 'Brock Harrison' from Pewter City to Pallet Town, I think I just might know the girl you need!_"

"Who was that?" Leaf asked. She didn't recognize the high-pitched male voice she'd heard in the background of wherever Lance currently was, but she was relieved he had spoken up and saved her from Lance's subdued wrath.

"That," Lance began, clicking his tongue sharply against the roof of his mouth, "was Wallace's cousin, Harley Rannells."

Suddenly, the pale face of a steely green-eyed male with long, purple locks appeared on the screen beside Lance.

"So, you know someone who might be able to accompany Brock to Pallet Town?" Leaf asked.

"Uh-huh," Harley said, nodding. "Her name's Solidad Natochenny, and she's home in Pewter City for the holidays. She's just the sweetest woman, and I'm more than positive she'd be glad to make the trip to Pallet Town if you ask her nicely. I think she and Brock already know each other, as a matter of fact. Not to mention, she's an incredibly talented and strong trainer, if I ever did know one. She won Top Coordinator at the Kanto Grand Festival a while back."

"She sounds perfect," Leaf mused. "Right, Lance?"

"I suppose we don't have many other options right now," the Champion sighed. "I'll contact this Solidad character."

Leaf glanced out the window, noticing the shore of the island was now within a minute's distance. "I need to go. We're nearly at Shamouti Island."

"Very well," Lance conceded. "Leaf?"

"Yes?"

"I expect to see you in Pallet Town tonight."

"You will. I don't plan on staying in the Orange Islands long." She then disconnected the call and slowly rose to her feet, exiting the cabin. The boat was still in the process of pulling into the dock. Leaf looked up to the ship's captain, Maren, who happened to be from Shamouti Island herself.

"Thank you, Maren. I appreciate you getting me out here on such short notice," Leaf said graciously. The green-haired woman smiled at the teen kindly.

"It's no problem, Ms. Greene," she assured. "Anything to help the G-Men in their investigation back on the mainland." She turned off the boat's engine and continued, "I hope you don't think me rude, but I saw you overlooking something about Ash Ketchum and Shamouti Island earlier."

"Yes?" Leaf prompted, perking up slightly.

"It's just, I knew Ash Ketchum. He and his friends were actually passengers on this very boat when I gave them a lift to Shamouti Island several years ago." Leaf stared at the woman blankly before mechanically turning away.

"Yeah, a lot of people seem to know Ash Ketchum," she muttered before jumping over the railing on the yacht and onto the dock. She glanced up at Maren one last time. "I should only be an hour." Maren nodded understandingly.

"Take your time," she said. Leaf thanked her once again and set off for the beach. It wasn't long before she saw that the girl she was supposed to be meeting, Melody, already waiting for her.

"Are you Melody Birnbaum?" Leaf asked as she approached. Melody lowered her sunglasses slightly to get a better look at the girl nearing her.

"Are you agent Leaf Greene?" she asked in reply.

"I sure am," Leaf said. Melody removed her sunglasses fully, placing a single hand on her hip and slinging her weight to the right.

"Aren't you a little young to be a part of the G-Men?" she asked suspiciously.

"Probably," Leaf replied with a shrug, "but they let me in anyway." Melody smiled and, deciding that she liked this girl, went in to shake her hand.

"Melody Birnbaum," she began, finally and fully introducing herself. "So, what do you need to know about Ash Ketchum?"

_**December 22nd, 2001. Afternoon. Pewter City.**_

"Brock, do you _have_ to go?" Tilly, Brock's youngest sibling, whined from behind her older brother, who was in the process of packing up a few last essentials. Brock zipped up his bag and turned around to face his sister with a saddened expression.

"Yeah," he said, scooping her into his arms as he stood up. "It's for your own safety though."

"Brock, I don't want you to leave!" cried another of Brock's siblings, Timmy, who clung to the 19-year-old's leg, sniffling. "What if you get hurt?" Brock smiled at the boy reassuringly, patting his head.

"Don't worry, I'll be with Solidad," he reminded everyone as the rest of his brothers and sisters gathered around. "Do you remember her? She grew up here in Pewter City, too."

"Yeah," Salvador said with a lopsided grin. "She's really _pretty_."

"Well, thank you Salvador!" Solidad laughed, entering the room beside Brock's parents, Lola and Flint. "I'm glad someone thinks so." Brock grinned at her.

"I think you're pretty, too," he added, with hearts in his eyes. Solidad smiled and shook her head.

"I see you haven't changed a bit," she said, brushing off his advance.

"I'm very stable. I don't flip-flop like other men in the world."

"I see," Solidad said, chuckling. "Well, I apologize for breaking up this family good-bye so soon, but it would probably be best if we left as soon as possible as to avoid making this a two-day journey." Brock nodded, growing serious once again.

"Right," he agreed, before turning to his family. "Please be safe."

"We will, son," Flint said, placing his hand on Forrest's shoulder. "Besides, Forrest here will protect us if anything funny happens." Forrest broke out into a grin.

"You bet I will!" he exclaimed.

"Good," Brock said. "I'm counting on you!" With a few last tearful hugs from the younger of Brock's siblings, he and Solidad finally departed from the Pewter City Gym and were on their way to Pallet Town.

"I'm sorry, I meant to thank you for doing this for me," Brock apologized once they were outside. "You're sacrificing your time with your family to be here with me." Solidad shrugged.

"Well, to be honest, it's very difficult to say no to anything the Indigo League Champion asks of you, especially when he calls you personally on your home phone," she explained. "And, you're an old friend. I might have hesitated if it was some person I'd never met in my life. Besides..." Her voice drifted off.

"Besides... ?" Brock prompted further.

"Perhaps you've heard, but May and her family and Drew moved to Pallet Town after the attack on the Petalburg Gym. I've been sitting here in Pewter City worrying sick about him for the past couple of days, and I've been looking for an excuse to go see him."

"You mean Drew?" Brock asked.

"Yes," Solidad affirmed. "May, too, but May has her family. Drew needs someone to look out for him."

"Oh." Brock wasn't really sure what to say to that. He had been under the impression Solidad and Drew were fairly close when they met up with them at the Kanto Grand Festival—back when he was still traveling with Ash and the Maple siblings—but he had never known to what degree that closeness was.

"He's like a younger brother to me, and like you want to protect your siblings, I want to protect him," Solidad continued.

"I understand," Brock said, nodding. "By the way, did Lance tell you why he wanted me to go to Pallet Town?"

"He was fairly vague," Solidad confessed. "All I know is what I've seen on the news, so I presume it's because you're a former gym leader... ?" She paused, obviously in thought. "But that doesn't make sense since Forrest is now the Pewter City Gym Leader, and he's staying behind..." Brock shook his head.

"The attacks aren't on gym leaders, as it turns out."

"No?"

"When I, myself talked to Lance, he said the attacks are now in connection with Ash Ketchum, somehow." Solidad looked surprised upon this statement.

"How unusual," she mused. "I suppose that makes better sense, though. Ash was the one with whom you and May and Max were traveling, wasn't he?"

"Yup."

"But why would anyone be after such a young trainer?" Brock lowered his head slightly before replying:

"That's the big question, isn't it?"

_**December 22nd, 2001. Late Afternoon. Nuvema Town.**_

"Serv?"

Servine slithered up beside Trip, who was sitting at his desk at home. His camera was hooked up to his computer, and he was working on downloading the dozens of digital photographs he had snapped along his journey and sorting them into folders. The young trainer paused long enough to pet his Pokémon's slick head. The Grass-type smiled smugly in response, flailing his leafy little arms.

The radio on his desk hummed with speculation on the recent attacks throughout the various regions, and Trip had been listening to the reports carefully for the past couple of days. Alder's announcement that he was closing all the Unovan gyms down had come as a surprise, and while Trip understood the logic behind doing so, he _really_ hoped the crisis would be solved by the end of the holidays, so he could continue on his quest to become Champion. He'd hate to have to stay here any longer than necessary.

He heard the doorbell downstairs ring and the front door open. He couldn't recall his parents telling him they were having guests over, so he continued with his work. If his mother came to his room to retrieve him, then he would socialize with whatever family-friend had dropped by (though it seemed rare that anyone dropped by anymore). A couple of minutes passed uneventfully, which pushed such thoughts out his mind and allowed him to focus on the task at hand. He was quickly drawn out of his mental solitude, however, when he heard his father's voice rise to a near-scream.

"No! I don't care who you are or what theories your government agency has, I absolutely refuse to allow my son to go to the boonies 'for his protection.' Bah!"

"Serv Servine!" Servine leapt up onto the desk, looking at his trainer in alarm.

"Don't worry about it," Trip mumbled as he rose to his feet and left the Grass-type behind as he headed downstairs.

The boy was, understandably, surprised to see that his idol, the Champion of the Unova region was standing in his living room, apparently in the middle of an argument with his father. (Well, Trip inwardly conceded, it was more that his father was in the middle of an argument with him. Alder simply stood there with a passive expression on his face). Perhaps even more confusing was the fact that standing behind the Champion were two familiar faces—Cilan and Iris, Ash's two traveling companions, both looking shocked by Trip's father's outburst.

"Dad, what's going on?"

His question demanded the attention of the whole room. Trip's mother quickly approached him, grasping his shoulders with her thin, pale fingers.

"It's nothing, sweetheart," she assured him nervously. "Go back to your room... and take your friends with you!" She gestured toward Iris and Cilan, and Alder nodded that they should go. Trip was about to protest that they weren't exactly his friends, but he decided against it, seeing the panicked look in his mother's eyes. She always became anxious when his father got angry, and she was undoubtedly upset that their guests had to see him this way. Although Trip would never admit it, he was a little embarrassed himself.

"Well, come on," Trip gave in, beckoning the two trainers toward him. They wordlessly followed him back up the stairs and into his room, where Servine was waiting. He closed the door behind them.

"Sorry about that," he mumbled, turning toward Iris and Cilan. "My dad has a tendency to blow up sometimes."

Cilan nodded understandingly. There was a look of sympathy mixed in both his and Iris's eyes, which only furthered Trip's embarrassment about the situation, though he was keeping a cool front.

"I see your Servine is doing well," the connoisseur commented after clearing his throat. Trip raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah." He then sighed. "All right, let's cut to the chase: What's the deal? Why are you guys here? And where's Ash?"

"Ash is at home in Kanto," Cilan explained calmly. "That's where we—" he gestured to Iris and himself, "—are headed."

"And Alder wants you to come with us," Iris added. Trip looked at her strangely.

"What? Why?" he demanded.

"You've heard of the attacks in Kanto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh, right?" Cilan asked, sounding a little tentative.

"Who hasn't?" Trip scoffed. His radio was still on, and the host and callers were still discussing just that.

"Well..." Iris seemed to hesitate. She didn't know how to go about this. "... Alder is working with the G-Men. All of the Champions are a part of the G-Men force, actually. And they're investigating those attacks. Apparently, they've come to the conclusion that whoever is behind all of this is targeting people who know Ash."

"Ash?" Trip reeled back in surprise. "Why Ash of all people? And how did they come to _that_ conclusion?"

"All the people who've been attacked are close with Ash," Cilan explained. "That's what Alder told us."

"I'm not close with Ash," Trip retorted.

"But Ash still thinks you might be in trouble," Iris insisted, "like how he thinks Cilan and I are in trouble."

"I know it's terribly inconvenient," Cilan continued, "but Alder and Ash and the other Champions are just looking out for our best interests. Alder said Cynthia—the Champion of Sinnoh—is facilitating a movement to Pallet Town, where we'll all be placed under the protection of the G-Men."

Trip said nothing at that point, simply trying to process what had been said to him. He was highly skeptical. He _really_ doubted that anyone would be after him; yes, he and Ash had run into each other several times along his journey throughout Unova, but it was all, in his mind, highly insignificant encounters. He could definitely see Iris and Cilan being endangered; the trio was obviously very close. Regarding himself, though...

His bedroom door opened and his mother slipped in, her hands shaking.

"Your father went on a quick walk to cool himself down," she said, "if you want to leave and go with Mr. Alder, now is your chance. I'm giving you the choice."

"We'll help you pack if you'd like, Tristan," Alder said, sounding uncharacteristically serious.

"It's Trip," Trip corrected, a little put-off.

"Right." Alder nodded, though Trip knew he really wasn't going to bother with committing his name to memory.

"What about you, Mrs. McGonigall?" Cilan asked with genuine concern laced in his voice. The tired-looking woman smiled weakly.

"Oh, don't worry about me," she assured him. "I'll be fine—really!" Something told Cilan she wouldn't.

Trip gazed at his mother for a long while and then, reaching into his pocket, grabbed Servine's Pokéball.

"Servine, return," he said, calling the Grass-type back. He then turned to Alder. "I'll go with you."

Anywhere was better than here.

_**December 22nd, 2001. Evening. Pallet Town.**_

Dinner had passed long ago at the Ketchum residence, and now everyone was playing a sort of waiting game, anticipating the arrivals of the rest of the trainers Ash had written down. Lance had recently returned with Ritchie, who was, as the rest of Ash's friends, greeted warmly into the home. Wallace and Harley had also arrived in Pallet with the news that Brock was being accompanied by Solidad on their way to the little town. As for the three trainers from Unova, Cynthia informed everyone earlier in the afternoon that Alder had picked them all up and were on a flight to Kanto, scheduled to arrive that evening.

Ash yawned loudly, stretching his arms. He and the rest of the young trainers were all hanging around in a rather distorted circular-like shape in the living room. Well, all with the exception of Paul, who was, as usual, keeping his distance.

"You still tired Ash?" Ritchie asked, having heard that his fellow friend and rival had pulled an all-nighter the previous evening. Ash had taken Cynthia's and Steven's advice earlier and taken a nap, but was still feeling rather off-balance.

"Yeah," Ash confessed. "My sleeping schedule's kinda messed up now." A sudden knock on the door cut the conversation short. Not long after, Gary, who along with Tracey had again joined the Ketchums that evening for the purpose of discussing the 'Ash Connection,' as some were now jokingly referring to it, came strolling in with a smirk plastered on his face.

"Hey Ash, looks like Team Unova's here," he said. Ash sprung to his feet.

"Really?" he asked, grinning. His question was answered when from behind Gary walked in Iris, Cilan, and Trip.

"Guys!" he exclaimed, nearly tackling Iris and Cilan to floor. "And Trip! I'm glad you're OK!

"Gah! Ash!" Iris admonished, trying to regain her balance as she stumbled backward from the impact of his hug. "Calm down! You're such a little kid!"

"It's only been a week, Ash," Cilan chuckled nervously, tentatively putting his hand on the trainer's back to return his embrace. "You act as though you haven't seen us in years!"

"Well, you might as well get used to it," Misty said, smiling from her place on the sofa nearby. "Ash is a very huggy person."

"True story," Dawn added with a laugh.

"Piplup!" exclaimed Dawn's starter, who was out of his Pokéball and resting in Dawn's lap. Once Iris broke away from Ash's death-grip, she took a good look at all the other youth trainers gathered in the room.

"So, is everyone here all trainers Ash is friends with?" she asked curiously. Gary nodded curtly.

"Yup, welcome to club 'Ash Connection.' We meet every so often to discuss the hardships of knowing Ash. This week, our topic is how to deal with having a freakishly powerful Pokémon after you," he said satirically, feigning an overly cordial tone. "Please, join us in our poorly formed circle and introduce yourselves."

"Drew," May began in a half-whisper, leaning over to her rival, "I think I might have finally met someone who's more cynical than you are." Drew rolled his eyes.

"May, you know that's not possible," he said, flicking his hair. Iris, Cilan, and Trip accepted Gary's invitation and found themselves places among Ash's other friends and rivals.

"Well," Cilan started politely, taking up residence beside Zoey and Dawn. "I'm Cilan, a Pokémon Connoisseur, and one of the gym leaders of Striaton City Gym in Unova."

"A Pokémon Connoisseur?" Dawn asked, perking up. "What's that?"

"It's a trainer class that's endemic to the Unova region," Zoey explained, casting the blunette a sideways glance. "They measure the compatibility between trainers and their Pokémon."

"Right!" Cilan said with a charming smile. He was pleasantly surprised, since few people outside of the Unova region, from his experience, knew about connoisseurs. "And might I get your names?"

"I'm Zoey. I'm a Pokémon Coordinator from Snowpoint City in Sinnoh," the redhead greeted.

"And my name's Dawn! I'm also a coordinator. I grew up in Twinleaf, Sinnoh." Dawn looked down and patted her Piplup on the head. "And this here's my partner, Piplup. He was my first Pokémon!"

"Well, hello there, Piplup!" Cilan said with a chuckle, taking a closer look at the Water-type. "Hm... a bubbly and ambitious little Water-type! A perfect match for someone who's working toward being a Top Coordinator!"

"Wow, how did you know I wanted to be a Top Coordinator?" Dawn marveled.

"Because that's the goal of _all_ coordinators?" Paul muttered under his breath from afar. "Just the same as someone who's taking the Pokémon League Challenge wants to be the Champion someday." Paul's snide comments went unheard, though, as Iris suddenly spoke up.

"Oh, so you're a coordinator?" she asked. "That's so cool! They don't have contests in Unova!"

"Seriously?" May asked, blinking.

"Nope."

"Well, we've actually got a lot of coordinators here," Ash commented, straightening up just the slightest bit. "There's Dawn and Zoey, of course, but May and Drew and Kenny also compete in contests." He pointed out each person individually as he spoke as a way of introduction.

"So, what's your name?" May asked, addressing Iris.

"Oh! Sorry," Iris apologized sheepishly. "I'm Iris, and I'm from the Village of the Dragons. I want to be a Dragon Master someday." It was then that Axew popped out of her hair. "And this is Axew. He's my Dragon-type Pokémon from Unova."

"Her _only_ Dragon-type Pokémon," Trip added sarcastically, folding his arms. "Not much of Dragon Master, if you ask me." Iris shot him a glare.

"Hey, you must be Ash's rival, Trip!" Barry said with a grin spreading across his face. "That's cool, I'm Ash's rival, too!"

"And so is Gary and Paul," Misty said, resting her chin on the open palm of her hand. "Perhaps you can all bond over your mutual dislike of Ash."

"Hold up, I don't _dislike_ Ash," Gary interjected. "I just think it's very easy to rile him up and make fun of him."

"I second that," Paul added.

"There, you see?" Before anyone had the chance to reply to Gary, there was a second knock at the door. "Hey, sounds like Brock-o is here now," Gary added. His statement was confirmed when in walked Brock with Solidad in tow. Ash, as he had done for the umpteenth time that day, got up and gave his newly arrived friend an enthused embrace.

"Remember what I said about Ash being a huggy person?" Misty asked rhetorically, rolling her eyes. This elicited a few laughs from the group and an abashed smile from Ash.

"Now isn't this sweet?" Harley asked, sauntering into the room to greet Solidad. "You, Drew, May, and myself all parted less than a week ago only to meet up again here. Isn't it funny how things work that way?"

"Hilarious," Drew grumbled under his breath, only loud enough for May to hear.

"It's nice to see you so soon again, Harley," Solidad chuckled, before turning to Drew and May. "And I'm happy to see you two seem to be holding up well."

"Thanks Solidad," May said, beaming.

"Great, so is that everyone?" Gary cut in suddenly, folding his arms. "'Cause the sooner we get to discussing this whole mess with this Pokémon and Ash, the sooner I can go home for evening."

"Not quite," Lance said, joining the large group of young teens plus Solidad, Brock, and Harley in the room. "We're still waiting for one of our G-Men agents to arrive." Ash furrowed his eyebrows in thought. He did a mental headcount of all the Champions: Lance, Wallace, Cynthia, Alder, and Steven, if you counted him as a former Champion. That was all of them, and they were all here. Who were they missing?

"Who?" Ash finally asked, voicing his ponderings.

"Me." In the doorway appeared a young lady, probably around Ash's age, with familiar long brown hair and blue eyes. Gary slowly rose to his feet.

"Mew," he said, almost in shock. "Leaf Greene."

"That's my name, don't tire it out," Leaf quipped. "Nice to see you're still around, Gary."

Ash also rose to his feet as he, too, recognized the girl.

"Wait, Leaf!" he exclaimed in surprise. "_You're_ Ms. Greene? The person who's been doing the investigative work for the G-Men?"

"Yes."

"How can you be a part of the G-Men? You're 15," Gary pointed out doubtfully.

"You're 15, and you're a Pokémon Researcher," Leaf retorted. Gary stopped.

"Touché." He stood corrected.

"Wait, you guys know each other?" Misty asked incredulously.

"Yeah, we all grew up in Pallet Town," Ash explained.

"We got our trainer's licenses and starters on the same day from my grandfather," Gary added. "I picked Squirtle. Leaf got Bulbasaur. Ash was late to the ceremony, so some kid who traveled all the way from Virdian City to get his license picked out Charmander. That's why Ash got Pikachu, instead."

"And now look at us small-town Pallet kids, almost five years later, going off into the world and doing big things," Leaf continued. "I joined the G-Men... Gary's making himself a name in the world of Pokémon research... and Ash is apparently the savior of the modern era."

"Excuse me?" Zoey said, a little taken aback by the bold ending to Leaf's statement.

"I'll explain in a moment," Leaf said, "but let's get everyone together first." The next few minutes involved gathering everyone in the residence into one room, teens and adults. Right before Leaf was about to address the entire household, Lance quietly pulled her aside.

"Leaf, what are you planning?" he asked in a low voice.

"Don't worry about it," the girl assured him. "Just know that my trip to Shamouti Island will be well-worth its time, you'll see." Lance let her go, but he was still wary. Alder caught sight of the Indigo Champion's troubled expression and laughed heartily.

"Lance, don't look so troubled," he chortled. "Let's hear what Lily has to say."

"Leaf," Lance corrected, annoyed. "And believe me, Alder, _I'm listening_."

Leaf migrated to the center of the large circle that had been reformed, bringing herself to the forefront of attention.

"My apologies for making everyone wait," Leaf began with a smile, "but we're all here now, and we can finally get down to business." She pulled out a notebook that had various papers and articles slipped in between the pages—some were practically falling out.

"I've been working on this case from the very beginning, and... it's a mess," Leaf chuckled. "I'll be the first to admit that I—we—don't know everything. I'm sure most of you have heard theories of anarchists and anti-league groups being behind this whole conspiracy. I still don't know whether that's the case or not. Since applying Ash into the equation, however, I've developed a working theory regarding the person, or persons, behind the mysterious Pokémon and the attacks."

Lance shifted slightly, folding his arms. His eyebrows furrowed, now intrigued.

"Arceus, has she already figured it out?" he muttered. Steven cast him a quick glance, being the only one close enough to overhear him. The rest of the room waited for Leaf's explanation in silence.

"I'm sure most of you who know Ash well realize that he's special. In fact, I'm sure many of his traveling companions can recall several instances where Ash showed the world he has exceptional talents beyond just battling in an official league stadium." She paused to take a moment and scan the expressions of Misty, Brock, Tracey, May, Max, Dawn, Cilan, and Iris; they all seemed to know _exactly_ what she was talking about. The rest seemed a little lost.

"There's one incident that I found particularly interesting, however," Leaf said, opening up her notebook. Several slips of paper drifted to the floor as she did.

"Shamouti Island. 1998." She paused before she began to read, "'_Disturb not the harmony of fire, ice or lightning, lest these titans wreak destruction upon the world in which they clash. Though the water's great guardian shall arise to quell the fighting, alone its song will fail, and thus the earth shall turn to ash. O Chosen One, into thine hands bring together all three. Their treasures combined tame the Beast of the Sea._' ... Sound familiar, Ash?"

"Yeah... that's the Shamouti prophecy they gave me when I visited their island back then..." Ash replied, though he seemed confused. Her reciting of the old prophecy had thrown him for a loop, as he was unsure of what relevance it had to the situation at hand.

"Wait," Misty cut in, speaking slowly. "Ash already fulfilled that prophecy. He saved Lugia and stopped the fighting between Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres."

"Right," Leaf nodded, "but, I visited Melody Birnbaum, the Festival Maiden who declared Ash as the Chosen One back in '97, on Shamouti Island this afternoon—that's why I was so late in arriving here—and she elaborated on Ash's 'divine' calling a little more. While it's true that Ash fulfilled the prophecy the Shamouti presented to him, he nevertheless remains the Chosen One. There are many prophecies he will and probably already has fulfilled, considering his history with other Legendary Pokémon. His overall duty, however, is to restore balance to the world whenever it falls into chaos."

"Hold up," Paul interjected, looking extremely skeptical. "Do you _seriously_ expect us to believe Ash is some 'Chosen One,' and that's why all of this is happening?"

"I don't expect you to believe anything," Leaf shrugged. "In fact, it's not about what you believe, or what I believe, or even what Ash believes. The only belief that matters is that of the person or Pokémon who is behind these attacks. And I think that someone believes with all their heart that Ash is the Chosen One and is determined to get him out of the way so he or she or it can get their _real_ plan underway."

"I still don't get it," Daisy said from the back of the room, near where Tracey was standing. "If this Pokémon or whatever is after Ash, then why waste his time with all of these other people?" She made a grand gesture to the whole of the room.

"A surprisingly intelligent question," Leaf said. Misty and Gary both suppressed a laugh at the backhanded compliment, and Leaf smiled and almost laughed herself, but seeing Lance's glare, she quickly regained her wits to finish. "But, the answer is simple: Ash has never been alone in any of his undertakings. Whether it be Misty or Tracey or Dawn, there's _always_ been someone to back him up."

"Why does that matter?" Daisy asked.

"Well, to be perfectly frank," Leaf began, "a 14-year-old kid who stands by himself is hardly a threat to anyone."

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**End of Part I: The Gathering**

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A/N: Just a fun fact. All the characters in this story who don't have an official last name (i.e. Ash Ketchum, Gary Oak, etc.) or popular fanon name (i.e. Drew Hayden, May Maple, etc.) derive their last names from their English voice actors. For example, Paul's voice actor is Julián Rebolledo; thus, we get Paul Rebolledo. The only exception (thus far) is Barry (whose last name is Pearl, based off his game/manga counterpart) because he and Trip share the same English voice actor, Jamie McGonnigal. Although, I suppose Leaf (her last name Greene being a play on the game "Pokémon LeafGreen Version") could also be considered an exception, but she doesn't have an animé counterpart.

Expect the first chapter of Part II next week! Thank you!


	7. VI: In Which Delia Reveals the Truth

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**Part II: The Vision**

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Chapter VI: In Which Delia Reveals the Truth

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_**January 6th, 1997. Afternoon. Celestic Town.**_

Steven wasn't sure what to expect, but he certainly didn't expect this.

Although it had been well over a year and a half since he had earned the esteemed title of Hoenn Champion, he didn't feel quite comfortable meeting the new Sinnoh Champion candidate on his own, particularly because the terms of candidacy were unique. Usually, a league victor or an Elite Four member assumed the position after challenging and defeating the Champion in battle. In this case, the (now former) Sinnoh Champion had unexpectedly died after a tragic heart attack in his early 50s, leaving Sinnoh—and its G-Men force—without a leader.

Lance had tasked him with the responsibility of sorting out the situation since the Dragon Master's time and resources were spread far too thin with Team Rocket for him to get involved in Sinnoh's affairs. Steven didn't mind at first, and he willfully agreed to find a new Champion to lead the region. He soon came to find out, however, that the assignment was not as easy as it seemed. _Where would he begin? What constituted a Champion?_

Yet, whisps of rumors passing over Mt. Coronot and through the cities and towns had given rise to the romantic idea that the late Champion had been defeated in an unofficial battle by the granddaughter of Professor Carolina Soler.

And that was what led him here, to a private office in the Celestic Town Historical Research Center. Steven had made contact with the grandmother, who promised to arrange a meeting time in which her granddaughter would be at the research center. That time was now.

When he first saw her, he mistook her for a lab assistant, or a visiting trainer—certainly not someone who could have defeated the all-powerful Sinnoh Champion. (He was not sure that even Lance or he, himself could take him on). She was so young; she still looked like a teenager. Then, she introduced herself, and he knew that if the rumors were true, that if she really had defeated the Champion, then he had a prodigy on his hands.

"My name is Cynthia Jenness." She reached out her slender hand to shake his.

"Steven Stone," he replied, grasping her hand. Despite her youth, he was taken with how beautiful she was. Everything about her was light: her silvery blonde hair, her ivory skin, her ash gray eyes, the soft hum of her voice, the grace with which she walked, the fluidity of her movement. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"I think the pleasure is all mine. It was an honor to hear that the Hoenn Champion wished to meet with me." She paused and tilted her head, her eyes giving him a once-over. "I know why you're here, Mr. Stone."

"You do?"

"Yes." She nodded, smiling. "I've heard the rumors, too. I suppose because I am the rumor."

"Is it true then?" Steven pressed. "That you defeated the Sinnoh Champion before ... ?"

Cynthia was silent for a long moment.

"Yes," she spoke the word firmly, and Steven felt his breath catch. "Of course, no proof exists. It was a leisurely battle between him and I, nothing more."

He didn't pause before he asked, "Would you like to prove yourself then?" He fingered one of the Pokéballs along his belt, and she seemed to understand his message. Yet, her passive expression remained unchanged, and her voice remained calm when she replied:

"Mr. Stone, do you realize how old I am?"

Steven hesitated.

"No," he admitted.

"19," she informed him. "The youngest age any trainer has ever assumed the position of Champion is 21; I believe that person was you, Mr. Stone. I recall that it caused quite a stir. Just how desperate are the G-Men?"

Steven blinked; he hadn't really considered the G-Men. Lance was the one who typically spearheaded the force; meanwhile, he had thus far had no reason to call up the resources in his division, except to assist Lance, and Alder was a pacifist.

"Desperate enough, I suppose," he humored. The edge of her lips tipped upward into a smile once again.

"All right," she agreed. "We can have a battle. If you find me competent enough, I'll _consider_ the league's offer. But first..."

"First ... ?" Steven encouraged.

In a seeming break of her character, Cynthia let out a light, glittery giggle.

"We should get some ice cream!" Steven mentally faltered, and Cynthia's voice mellowed out once again before she continued, "This business is no way we should introduce ourselves to each other, especially before what I imagine is going to be a grueling battle." She brushed her blonde hair out of her face shyly before offering him a coy smile. "So, what do you say?"

_**December 24th, 2001. Before Sunrise. Pallet Town.**_

Cynthia lied wide awake in bed, taking in small, but deep breaths to ease the bought of nausea she was experiencing. Her gray eyes were fixated on the acoustic ceiling above, looking for pictures of Pokémon in the "popcorn" kernels that made up the ceiling's cottage cheese-like texture. She knew it was silly, but it was something she had done as a child in her own bedroom when she was trying to fall asleep, and now she was using it as a tool to fight off her sickness. It had been working for a while—long enough for the darkness of the room to be lit with the blue light of morning—but it was an uphill battle, and she was losing.

Steven stirred slightly in his sleep, but he was otherwise unaware of her condition.

Knowing she could no longer hang on, Cynthia stumbled out of bed and into the bathroom. She cast herself in front of the toilet, ill. She wasn't sure how long she was there, but about midway through, she was vaguely aware of the fact someone had entered the small room and was holding back her hair. She was too dazed (or perhaps distracted) to figure out who it was.

Once Cynthia finished, she collapsed her head against her arm and took a moment to simply breathe. She could feel that her forehead was damp with perspiration from the laborious work. It took a few minutes for her to come to her senses, but once she did, she finally spoke up.

"I imagine I must look quite pathetic right now," Cynthia panted.

"I don't think so." Cynthia recognized the voice as female. She lifted her head slightly and glanced behind her to see her benefactor: Solidad. The coordinator continued, "Not in the way you think, at least." Cynthia laughed half-heartedly and dropped her head back down. She then reached to the left of her, grabbing the rim of the bathroom counter.

"So," Solidad began slowly, taking a step back from the Sinnoh Champion as she staggered to her feet, "how far along are you?" Cynthia looked at her with questioning eyes, but said nothing immediately in response.

"Sorry," Solidad apologized. "I heard you yesterday morning as well. I could only wonder." Cynthia broke into a weak smile.

"Almost two months," she confessed.

"You and Steven must be very excited," Solidad commented. Cynthia paused, unsure of how to respond.

"I haven't told him yet," she finally admitted. Solidad raised her eyebrows.

"Oh?"

Cynthia nodded.

"I haven't know that long myself," she explained. "I found out perhaps only a day after the first attack on the Waterflowers, so I haven't had an opportune time to sit down and discuss it with him. It's a complicated matter."

"Children are always a complicated matter, no matter what age," Solidad mused in response. The ends of Cynthia's lips curled upward.

"Solidad Natochenny, right?" she asked. "I recall your face. You won Top Coordinator at the Kanto Grand Festival." Solidad tilted her head.

"Yes," she confirmed. "How did you know?"

"Just because I'm the Champion of the Sinnoh League doesn't mean I'm not engaged with the events of other trainer classes," Cynthia explained. "Contests are particularly interesting to watch. It takes a special kind of trainer to pull off the kind of tactics that show off the beauty and power of one's Pokémon. And you're an excellent performer."

"Well, thank you," Solidad said graciously. "I have to admit, I'm also a bit of a fan of yours. Although, who isn't? It's been a while since the league has seen a young female Champion." Cynthia seemed to nod in agreement, and a brief silence followed before she spoke up again.

"I apologize if this may seem out of place, but I want your opinion on something," she began calmly. "Do you believe Ash is the Chosen One?" Solidad appeared unfazed by the jarring subject change.

"I'm not sure I know Ash well enough to pass judgment. Even if I did, it wouldn't be my place to do so," the coordinator replied. "I do think Ms. Greene's theory about the connection between Ash being the Chosen One and whoever is behind these attacks is a viable one. May I ask, what prompted such a question?" Cynthia's lips tightened.

"Lance is a brilliantly strong trainer and leader," she answered curtly, "but he and I disagree on a lot of things."

"About Ash?"

"Many things, but Ash is one of them."

"Then, do you believe that Ash is the Chosen One?" It took a while for Cynthia to answer that question. She folded her arms and leaned against the tiled wall, thinking of the best way to reply.

"I grew up hearing legends of ancient god-like Pokémon and heroes who combined forces when the world was at war. I've seen for myself that these legendary Pokémon still exist. I'd like to believe there are a few heroes left, too," the Champion said wistfully. "I also believe that Leaf's theory is true. But I think she is wrong on one important detail."

"That is... ?" Solidad asked. Cynthia's expression deadpanned.

"I think our personal beliefs on whether Ash Ketchum is the Chosen One or not are _very_ important."

* * *

"Where are they?" The furor in Giovanni's voice was unmistakable. "What have you done? Where have you sent them?"

"I have done nothing. If you haven't noticed, I can _do_ nothing," he replied, jangling the same shackles that had been used in his capture for emphasis. "And even _if_ I knew where they were, I wouldn't tell you. You leave those children alone." In his anger, Giovanni responded by pressing some sort of button, which sent a painful jolt of electricity through his body. He grunted, shaking off the mild (at least, compared to previous experiences) electric shock.

"Why... Why do you want them?" he asked angrily. "What have they done to you?"

"It's none of your concern," Giovanni spat. He paused, allowing himself to calm down. A false cordiality returned to his tone when he spoke again. "Although, I must confess, I have a reason for desiring that you be the one to destroy him and his associates."

"And that is?"

"You care for the boy."

"I don't care for humans."

"You care enough that your will remains strong enough to overpower mine." Giovanni grinned wickedly. "And, the moment you take them out is when I'll know that I have complete control over you and can move forward with the rest of Project Legendary."

"Even so, you will ultimately fail. The human boy has a surprising proclivity for saving the world," he sneered in reply. Giovanni's face darkened.

"I'm not concerned," he said as he turned the dial to maximum power and pressed the button once again.

"_Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!_"

"Ash! Arceus, wake up!"

Ash's eyes flew open and he scrambled to sit up, breathing heavily. His pupils were contracted, and he had broken into a cold sweat. It took a moment for the young trainer to gather himself together and recognize that he was surrounded by his eight male roommates, all looking at him with mixed expressions of confusion or annoyance or both. Paul, he realized, had been the one who had yelled at him.

"Hey guys," Ash laughed nervously, swallowing. "What's up?"

"What's up? You were _screaming,"_ Trip informed him. Ritchie nodded and added:

"You scared all of us; you looked like you were convulsing in your sleep."

"Pika Pi!" Pikachu exclaimed, hopping onto his trainer's lap. He then nuzzled his trainer in the chest to express his concern. Ash patted the Electric-type on the head reassuringly, but before he had a chance to explain himself, the door was thrown open and in came the group of female teen trainers who had been sleeping in the guest room across the hallway. Dawn, who was without her crutches at the moment, was limping on her one good foot. All were still in their nightwear.

"What's going on?" Misty asked. "It sounded like someone was being murdered in here!"

"Hello, _ladies_," Drew added, feigning a seductive tone. "So good of you to join our inquiries. No murders tonight, unfortunately."

"_Drew_," May warned. The coordinating rivals seemed to engage in an irked staring contest. Drew was the first to break the eye contact after a few seconds, folding his arms and turning his head away from her.

Cilan sighed and shook his head, distressed by the amount of tension that was building in the room. It left a bad taste in his mouth. He supposed it made sense though, since everyone had been so rudely awakened and were likely upset they were now up at such an early hour of the morning.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to the connoisseur and, looking at Ash, he asked, "Were you having another nightmare?"

"_Another_ nightmare... ?" Leaf muttered under her breath. She looked at Ash more intently, her gaze narrowing. Before she had a chance to ask him or Cilan to clarify, the door was thrown open for a second time.

"Is everyone all right?" Cynthia asked, bursting into the room with a Pokéball in hand. Solidad followed closely behind, also with a Pokéball in hand.

"It's fine!" Ash finally spoke up, recognizing the two adult women were under the impression that they were under attack. "We're fine. Um... I think I accidentally kicked Pikachu in my sleep and he electrocuted me." Pikachu folded his ears back, offended by the accusation. Ash's roommates, meanwhile, all looked befuddled by Ash's statement, knowing it wasn't true. Relief, however, crossed both Cynthia and Solidad's expressions, and they stored their Pokéballs away.

"Sorry, the screaming caught us off guard," Solidad explained.

"We were afraid that perhaps that mysterious Pokémon had come here," Cynthia added.

"Nope! No Pokémon here," Ash announced, though he still seemed unusually nervous and twitchy. Nevertheless, the two woman took the trainer's word for it and left. As soon as they were gone, Barry turned to Ash.

"Ash, what's up with blaming Pikachu for this? I'm gonna fine you for lying!" the Sinnoh-born declared.

"I am _not_ lying," Ash retorted. "I _know_ I was shocked by electricity. I'm not mad at Pikachu; It's my fault. I probably just scared him on accident..."

"But Ash, Pikachu didn't electrocute you!" Max insisted. "Trust me, we would've known." Ash now looked downright confused.

"Really?" he asked, looking down at his partner. "That true, Pikachu?"

"Pi!" the Mouse Pokémon affirmed. Ash's lips tightened and he rubbed his chin ponderously.

"But I was so sure I had been electrocuted... I felt it!" he mused.

"Ash, were you having another nightmare?" Iris asked, repeating Cilan's former question. Ash blinked in surprise and took a moment to rack his memory, trying to decipher between what was reality and what was a dream.

"Yeah... yeah, I think I was..." he finally said.

"Do you remember what this one was about?" Iris persisted.

"Not really," Ash replied, his face falling as he spoke. "I still can't remember the first one very well..."

"Hang on," Kenny interjected, holding up a single hand. "You mean to say this has happened before?"

"That's what I was wondering, too," Leaf finally chimed in.

"Yeah!" Iris answered, nodding. "The night before Ash left Unova for Kanto, he had a really bad dream! He was tossing and turning in bed and groaning like he was in pain..."

"To be fair, though," Cilan admitted, "he didn't wake up screaming."

"Still... that's really odd! To happen right before he came to Kanto... isn't that only the day before Misty's gym got attacked?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah, it is," Misty confirmed, who seemed both surprised and disturbed. Iris placed her hands on her hips and looked directly at Cilan before she spoke.

"See? I _told_ you there is a connection between Ash's dreams and what's been going on, didn't I?" she asked. Cilan shook his head.

"At that time, it seemed like a stretch," he defended calmly, "but given everything that's happened in the past few days, and now this, I'm starting to believe what you said, Iris." He looked up at Ash again. "Are you sure you can't recall anything?"

The young trainer clutched his head, as if that would help him remember. "Well, um, now that I think about it... that name from the first dream I had was mentioned again. This is the second time I've heard it, and I don't remember it being in any of my other nightmares the past couple days."

"OK, so you've been having bad dreams for a while now... and you didn't _tell_ any of us?" Drew asked snidely. "Don't you think that might have been _slightly_ important since you're now apparently the 'Chosen One' and are at the center of everything that's been going on?"

"Sorry, I couldn't remember any of them, so I didn't think they would be important," Ash snapped.

"That's enough," Leaf cut in. "Ash, what was the name?"

"Giovanni."

"Hmm." All eyes were suddenly on Paul, who had grunted upon Ash's response.

"Do you know a Giovanni, Paul?" Dawn asked. "It's kind of an unusual name..."

"Not personally. But I've heard of one," Paul explained. "The former gym leader of Viridian City here in Kanto used to be a man named Giovanni. He was supposedly the strongest gym leader in the entire region. Never battled him myself. I already had my eight badges by the time I got around there, back when I was taking the Kanto League Challenge. He resigned from the post about four years ago."

"Virdian City..." Misty echoed thoughtfully. "Ash... didn't Gary battle the gym leader at Viridian City? And I mean the real gym leader, not Team Rocket."

"Now that you mention it, I'm pretty sure he did," Ash said, nodding. "It was the only gym battle he ever lost, I think..."

"Maybe we should go talk to Gary," May suggested. "He might be able to tell us more about his battle and Giovanni. Maybe it'll help us figure out if he's the same Giovanni in your dreams... ?" Ash straightened up, resolved.

"Right," he said, rising to his feet.

"Not _now_," Trip jeered. "It's not even 5 a.m. yet."

"Yeah, can you imagine how upset Gary would be if we showed up on his doorstep at this hour?" Misty asked. Ash's shoulder sagged, but he nodded again anyway.

"He'd probably slam the door in our faces," he muttered.

"Exactly," Misty said. "Let's all just go back to sleep for a couple of hours. When we wake up again, we can walk to Professor Oak's lab and talk to Gary then. Sound good?" There were several murmurs of agreement among the group.

"In the meantime," Leaf added. "Ash, maybe you should consider keeping a notepad and paper by your bed from now on." The raven-haired trainer blinked, bemused by her request.

"Huh?"

"Oh, I see," Cilan commented. "You remember your dreams most vividly in the moments after you wake up. Recording what you remember is a popular method used to train your mind to gain control of your dreams while sleeping. It's called 'lucid dreaming.'"

"Right," Leaf affirmed.

"Why, though?" Paul asked.

Misty immediately understood.

"It might help us learn more later on," she said. After a pause to digest that concluding note, everyone began to either file out of the room or return to their makeshift beds. Ash laid back down, knowing there was no way he'd sleep now.

* * *

"Geez, so fidgety," Iris yawned as she headed down the stairs with an uneasy Axew squirming in her arms, having split off from the other girls. "Maybe some water will calm you down. I shouldn't have taken you with me into Ash's room. You always get so weird when you're woken up in the middle of the night..."

"Yew!" Axew seemed on board with the idea of a cool glass of water. She giggled and hugged the Dragon-type closer to her before heading into the kitchen. She was surprised to find, however, that the space was already occupied by none other than Lance.

She froze, her breath hitching slightly. Axew looked up at his trainer curiously, wondering why she had stopped.

He was in the middle of making himself a cup of coffee, but he cast her a cursory glance when he noticed her presence. The brief eye contact made her all jittery, but she stayed rooted to her place on the tile. The moment was nothing short of surreal for her; here she was, in a tight kitchen space with perhaps the Pokémon world's most politically powerful man, standing in the same spot looking like an idiot while he was performing the most mundane of early morning tasks.

Of course, she'd met him before when she and Cilan and Trip had first arrived, but this was the first she had him alone, as well as the first time he had so much as looked at her. He had _looked_ at her!

"Is there something you need, Iris?" he asked finally, his voice rough with exhaustion. She nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Are you surprised I know your name?" he continued, and Iris brought herself to at least nod, slowly. She wanted to hit herself for acting so stupidly starstruck. She couldn't help it, though. She'd heard all about him growing up in the Village of Dragons, before he had even joined the Elite Four and become the Champion. He was lauded as the greatest Dragon Master that had ever lived, and as such, she had viewed him with great admiration since her youth.

"I know your mentor," Lance explained shortly as he filled his mug and took a tentative sip. Iris had to rack her brain for a moment before realizing to whom he was referring.

"Y-you mean Drayden?" she stammered out, finally finding her words. He nodded.

"My cousin and I trained under him long ago," he said.

"You and Ms. Clair?" She was stunned. She had never heard this tidbit of information, from Drayden or otherwise.

"He's known us since birth," he elaborated. "I imagine he has great things in store for you."

Iris tugged at the end of her shirt shyly before asking, "What makes you think that?"

He was silent for a long moment as he took another sip of his coffee.

"Drayden and I are very similar. We have specific purposes for our students," he replied plainly.

Iris blinked.

"Purposes?"

"Lance." The conversation was cut short, and Lance and Iris turned to see Leaf in the doorway. "I need to talk to you."

Lance furrowed his eyebrows in thought.

"Right," he agreed, and the young agent turned and left. He was about to follow her, but he paused to talk to Iris once again:

"Drayden will tell you his intentions for you one day," he said, "as I will one day tell mine."

He then brushed passed her, and Iris stood motionless and realized she had forgotten why she was there in the first place.

* * *

Delia yawned tiredly and flicked over her wrist to check her watch: 8:17 a.m. They were a little late in starting the preparations for breakfast that morning, but better late than never. Delia was still getting used to having to cook copious amounts of food for their home's many guests (now totaling thirty, including herself and Ash; thirty-three, if Gary, Tracey, and Professor Oak were joining them, which they usually did for dinner), but she had had the help of Mimey, Johanna, Caroline, and Brock in the massive undertaking for the past couple of days.

One of Ash's friends, Cilan, had also helped prepare dinner last night, and she to admit, Ash was right when he said he was quite the young chef. She learned he and his brothers apparently ran their own restaurant back in Unova. She told him that perhaps after this whole thing was over, she would take a vacation to Striaton City just so she could try his food.

"Ms. Ketchum, are you OK?" Delia reeled back in surprise at the sound of Brock's voice. "You seem a bit distracted."

"Yes, sorry," Delia laughed. "Just thinking."

"People seem to be doing a lot of that lately," Brock mused. "Anything on your mind in particular?" Delia smiled sadly.

"Well..." she began, though she seemed hesitant. She opened up the egg carton near her work space and began cracking them into the heated pan before her. "I suppose I've been thinking about the same things as everyone else. This whole business with Ash being the Chosen One and having some mysterious Pokémon after him and his friends. I'm just concerned since we haven't moved anywhere from two nights ago..."

"I'm sure Lance and the others are trying their hardest," Brock assured.

"Oh, goodness, I wasn't suggesting they weren't," Delia said quickly. "It's just very scary. I overheard Wallace and Lance talking last night. They think the displacement of you and the rest of Ash's friends is the reason why there hasn't been another incident for two days now. I'm just afraid we'll be an easy target if that Pokémon learns where we are."

"I understand," Brock coaxed, "but that's why the G-Men are here. Cynthia mentioned that though we can't see them, there are agents surrounding the entire Pallet Town area. That Pokémon will be chased off before it can even get within 100 feet of this house." Delia sighed in relief.

"That _is_ comforting to hear," she said. A pause. "Brock, I appreciate you talking to me. You've always been so good to Ash. He doesn't have any siblings, but I know he likes to think of you as his older brother and that makes you, by extension, another son of mine." Brock temporarily stopped what he was doing to face her fully.

"Thank you, Ms. Ketchum, that means a lot."

It was at that moment that the group of teen trainers came downstairs, dressed as though they were ready to go out. Dawn was back on her crutches and was struggling to get down the stairs without completely toppling over. Kenny and Zoey were assisting her.

Delia peeked her head outside the kitchen and asked, "Are you all headed somewhere?"

"Just to Professor Oak's lab," Ash explained before turning his attention to Brock. "Hey, Brock, do you wanna come with us?" The former gym leader seemed to hesitate.

"I'm actually gonna help your mom finish cooking," he finally responded. Ash appeared confused by this, but he shrugged it off.

"Be back by 9:00 a.m., though," Delia admonished. "Breakfast will be ready by then."

"Right, we will," Ash said. Before the traveling pack could leave, however, Lance intervened.

"You shouldn't be outside alone," he stated plainly.

"Well, there's fifteen of us, so we're not really alone," Paul grumbled under his breath.

"They'll be fine Lance," Cynthia began from distance away. "The area is overflowing with G-Men agents." Lance still looked unsure, but he backed off and let them go.

"We'll be back soon, promise!" Ash declared before exiting the front door with the fourteen other trainers in tow.

* * *

"So, Tracey," Daisy drawled, sidling up closer to the Pokémon Watcher, who was sketching his Marill chattering with her son, Misty's Azurill. "How did you get to be such a good artist?"

Gary rolled his eyes and took a sip of his coffee. Their flirting was beginning to become unbearable. Daisy had decided to spend the night at the lab the previous evening, claiming she really wanted to learn about how they took care of so many Pokémon there—which Gary knew was complete BS, but his grandfather kindly allowed her to take the guest room. Needless to say, all of yesterday and now this morning had been full of batted eyelashes and shy blushes.

"Oh! Well, you know... um... practice," Tracey replied with a crooked smile. "I've been drawing since I was a kid." Daisy giggled.

"Wow," she cooed, "that's a lot of dedication." Gary wanted to gag at the sugar-coated sound of her voice. When the doorbell rang, he gladly excused himself to go see who their guest was.

Or rather, _guests_. His grandfather had answered the door and invited in Ash and his entire posse. For a brief moment, Gary considered turning around and heading back into the other room with Tracey and Daisy.

"Dawn, you look exhausted," Professor Oak began sympathetically, "Come here, sit down. I'll get you a glass of water."

"Thank you, professor," Dawn panted. She was on her crutches still and the trip up the uneven road had been hard for her. After his grandfather left, Gary strolled in to greet his fellow trainers.

"So," he began, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth, "the neighbors must have thought you were a teenage gang of thugs coming through Pallet. All of you combined probably make up half the town's population."

Ignoring his quip, Ash asked, "Can we talk to you for a moment?"

"I'm guessing I don't really have a choice." Gary led the group into the sitting area near the front door. He was under the impression this was going to be a long discussion if the entirety of club 'Ash Connection' was here. Professor Oak brought Dawn her glass of water, which she thanked him for before he left to complete his daily chores with the Pokémon.

"All right, what's up?" Gary asked, plopping down on one of the sofas. Everyone else followed suit.

"Well..." Ash began hesitantly, "... I had a dream last night."

"Most people do," Gary said, raising an eyebrow.

"A nightmare," Ash clarified.

"Gee, I'm sorry," Gary said, though he was completely insincere.

"OK, let's cut to the chase," Leaf interjected impatiently. "Gary, did you battle a man named Giovanni at the Viridian City Gym?" Gary was caught off guard by this question. Then, his expression deadpanned.

"Yeah, and I lost," he admitted, chagrined to be discussing this. The battle at the Viridian City Gym was his first and probably his most humiliating loss. Not to mention, unnerving. He'd spent years trying to forget that day. "Why are you asking?"

"Ash thinks he's heard the name 'Giovanni' in his dream, twice now," Iris explained. "We were just wondering if there's some sort of connection or something. Could you tell us about that battle in detail, maybe?"

"I remember when Ash and Brock and I got there, you were in some sort of shock," Misty recalled. Gary nodded begrudgingly.

"It was a three-on-three battle," he began. "I started off with Nidoking and he sent out Golem. Nidoking had him knocked out with one hit. Giovanni then sent out a Kingler, and I pitted my Arcanine against him. Kingler put up a better fight, but Arcanine easily finished him off with a Fire Blast."

"So if it was going so well, then what happened?" Trip asked. Gary shook his head.

"Well he told me the battle wasn't over yet, and then he sent out this incredibly strong Pokémon that I'd never seen before. My Pokédex had no data on it, and it was covered in this... mechanical_... _armor..." He breathed out the last two words in shock, and his eyes widened as realization dawned upon him. The rest of the trainers seemed to be experiencing the same epiphany. Then:

"An armored Pokémon!" Barry exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "That sounds like the Pokémon we saw!" He gestured to Dawn, Kenny, Zoey as he spoke.

"Us too," Drew added, referring to May, Max, and himself.

"Same," Paul muttered.

"Hold on. Let him finish his story," Leaf urged, but Gary shrugged.

"There's nothing else to say. He wiped the floor with my Pokémon," he concluded.

Leaf frowned but reached into her bag, pulling out the notebook she had used to take notes during her interview with Melody a couple of days earlier. She flipped to a blank page and grabbed a pen in one of her bag's pockets, handing both to Gary.

"Draw it," she ordered. "The Pokémon, I mean. Just so we can be sure." Gary accepted the paper and pen and immediately got to work sketching out a picture.

"It's been a while, and I'm not an artist, but..." he began after a couple of minutes, "... this is what I remember." He turned the notebook around to show off his drawing to the entire group.

"Yup, that's definitely it," Max confirmed, nodding.

"I agree," Zoey said. "The resemblance is uncanny to what we saw in Twinleaf." Ash examined the picture closely for a long moment, until a disturbed expression fell across his face.

"Can I see that for a moment?" he asked, snatching the notebook out of Gary's hands. He then turned toward Misty and held it up again so she also could get a better look at it. "Misty, does this look like anyone to you?" Misty blinked, unsure of what he was getting at.

"Ash, I didn't see who attacked the Cerulean Gym, remember?" she reminded him.

"No, no, I mean before that. Someone who we met long ago," Ash persisted, desperately trying to jog her memory. Misty bit her lip and furrowed her eyebrows in thought.

"Well... now that you mention it, it kind of looks like Mewtwo," she mused. Ash stood up and backed away from her.

"That's exactly what I thought," he said before taking off out the front door.

"Hey!" Misty exclaimed angrily, leaping to her feet. "Where are you going? Wait up!" She went after him, leaving behind everyone else in a sort of stunned silence. After a few moments, Cilan cleared his throat.

"Maybe it's just because I haven't know Ash as long as the rest of you... but what's a Mewtwo?"

* * *

"Brock!" Ash burst through the front door of his home, notebook in hand. "Tell me, who does this look like?" Although confused by Ash's sudden outburst, Brock stopped his work setting the table and accepted the piece of paper Ash had ripped out of the notebook for him.

"Hm... It looks like a very poorly drawn picture of Mewtwo," the 19-year-old concluded after a little while.

"Ash!" Misty appeared in the doorway to the front room, panting from running. "What-"

"-Misty!" he exclaimed, cutting off her question. "Brock thinks it looks like Mewtwo, too!" Misty straightened up.

"So, do you think that Pokémon that attacked me and the others is Mewtwo?" she asked.

"Uh-huh," Ash said, nodding. "I'm sure of it. I don't why, but..."

"I'm sorry, but who is Mewtwo?" Reggie suddenly asked, injecting himself into the conversation.

"Yes, thank you for leaving us hanging, Ash," Drew said, strolling back in the home from behind Misty, along with the rest of group, which now included Gary. Dawn looked like she was about to die from exhaustion from quickly crutching herself all the way back to the Ketchum house. She collapsed on a nearby chair, awkwardly setting the cursed contraptions that were her crutches aside and wiping the sweat off her forehead.

"Three years ago, while Ash, Misty, and myself were traveling through Johto," Brock explained, "we came to Mt. Quena, the highest peak in the region. We missed the bus to go around the mountain, so we had to stay in a lodge. That's when Team Rocket came and stole Pikachu. We climbed to the top of Mt. Quena to save him, but when we got there, we encountered a Pokémon named Mewtwo, a clone of Mew."

Drew's breath audibly caught at the mention of "clone," which May noticed but said nothing about.

"Then we got caught up in this elaborate plot of Team Rocket's to capture Mewtwo for their evil purposes. We stopped them, though, and Mewtwo escaped," Brock finished.

"And now I think they've captured him again. Mewtwo's powerful, but he wouldn't hurt a Wurmple unless something was literally forcing him to. I think that's what the mechanical armor everyone's been seeing is doing," Ash added. "After the first dream, the one where I first heard 'Giovanni'... the name sounded familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on who it was. Now I remember. I'm positive Giovanni was the name of the leader of Team Rocket we met, the one who wanted Mewtwo." The color drained from Delia's face as her son said this, and she had to sit down.

"My apologies for interrupting," Lance began calmly, rising to his feet, "but is this Giovanni the same Giovanni who was the gym leader of the Virdian City Gym a couple of years ago?"

"I'm pretty sure," Ash answered. "Gary said he battled Giovanni before he left his gym leader position and that he used an incredibly strong Pokémon wearing armor..."

"So Giovanni's controlled Mewtwo before?" Ritchie asked.

"I guess so," Ash replied, shrugging.

"Does this mean Giovanni's the one behind all these attacks and thinks Ash is the Chosen One?" Maylene asked.

"Yes," Delia bleated weakly, finally speaking up. Everyone turned toward her in surprise. "It seems like something he would do."

"Delia, you make it sound like you know him personally," Norman commented, raising an eyebrow and looking at her with a concerned gaze.

"I do," Delia confessed, sniffling and blinking back tears.

"How?"

Delia had to fight to force the words out of her: "Giovanni is Ash's father."

.

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	8. VII: In Which Misty Patches Things Up

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Chapter VII: In Which Misty Patches Things Up

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**_April 28th, 1987. Late Afternoon. Viridian City._**

The first time Delia Ketchum held her son in her arms, an overwhelming sense that everything was going to be OK swelled within her.

Because Pallet Town had no hospital, it had been quite the event when her water broke. Melissa left her seven-month-old son, Gary, with her father-in-law and rushed Delia to Viridian City so the baby could be safely delivered. Delia had barely been able to hang on before she reached the hospital's doors. Ash was born less than eight minutes after their arrival.

"He's beautiful," Melissa cooed as her finger tenderly curled through one of his dark tufts of hair. "He looks just like you."

Delia smiled weakly at her friend.

"I'm glad for that," she said. Very few people knew about the father. Only Melissa, her husband, his father, and the aging Greene couple, with whom she was staying until she could save up enough money to buy the vacant house down the street, were aware.

Melissa was silent for a long moment as she assisted Delia in nursing the infant for the first time.

"About that," she began quietly. "Are you going to tell Giovanni? It just seems so mysterious to me, Delia, to keep it a secret. I never liked him much, but..."

"No, no," Delia shook her head vigorously, her demeanor turning desperate. "He must never know. I don't want Ash to know. I don't want them to ever meet."

"Why?" Melissa pleaded with concern.

"It's nothing to worry about," Delia insisted. "Just ... don't worry about it. The reason. As long as he never knows, everything will be OK..."

It was a secret she planned to carry to her grave.

**_December 24th, 2001. Early Evening. Pallet Town._**

Delia was miserable. She felt miserable, she looked miserable, and she had made her son miserable. A dark, solemn atmosphere had descended upon the home since she had revealed the nature of Giovanni's and Ash's relationship that morning, and she felt terribly guilty because it had ruined Christmas Eve (and possibly Christmas itself) for everyone.

Johanna and Caroline had insisted they take care of dinner without her and were currently in the middle of preparing it. Delia knew it was thoughtful of them, but she sincerely wished she could help. It would prove to be an excellent distraction to the shame she was feeling. Instead, however, she was sitting in the living room with the other adults and being subjected to questioning (albeit, very gentle and understanding questioning).

"We dated when we were younger," Delia sniffled. Although it had been hours since she had told everyone the truth, only now was she beginning to open up and discuss it. "I had a rebel streak in me, and I hung around a bad crowd. That's when I met him. I had no idea he belonged to Team Rocket for the longest time, though. It was only after his mother retired that he told me, and I was horrified when he said he was going to take over. We broke up shortly after that. I found out I was pregnant with Ash a couple of months later and returned to my hometown here in Pallet."

"Does Giovanni know Ash is his son?" Cynthia asked kindly, handing the disconsolate woman a cup of hot chocolate to help ease her troubles. Delia gratefully accepted the warm drink, but she shook her head.

"No, I never told him," she said. "I don't think he's aware he even has a son."

"How ironic," Harley mused. For once, he was actually being serious and had dropped his overly flamboyant act. "Giovanni goes after the supposed 'Chosen One,' and he ends up going after the son he never knew he had."

"There has to be more to it than that, though," Lance pointed out.

"What do you mean?" Wallace asked.

"The Team Rocket mantra has always been 'Steal Pokémon for profit. Exploit Pokémon for profit. All Pokémon exist for the glory of Team Rocket.' Their ultimate goal is to take over the world," Lance explained. "How do Ash and the others fit into that?"

"Revenge for releasing Mewtwo, maybe?" suggested Brock. He then shook his head and added, "No, but that doesn't make sense. If that were the case, he'd only be after Ash, Misty, and myself since we were the ones he encountered on Mt. Quena."

"It's the_ legend_," Leaf insisted, speaking up. She was, as a G-Men agent, the only teen present in the conversation. "Giovanni knows about the legend of the Chosen One, and that's why he wants Ash."

"No, I don't think it's that," Lance disagreed. "Giovanni, as a gym leader at least, was pragmatic, logical."

"Are you suggesting people who believe in legends are illogical?" Cynthia asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't twist my words, Cynthia," Lance snapped. "I'm merely stating my own observations."

"How well did you know him as a gym leader?" Cynthia asked him, her voice even, though questioning. Lance shut his mouth, staring at her for a long moment.

"Well?" Cynthia pressed.

"Not well," Lance finally admitted. "He was appointed by Agatha before I assumed her position as Champion. He never attended the annual Indigo Gym Leader Conference. He filed a request for repairs at the Viridian Gym, citing that a Pokémon battle had destroyed some of the structure, but he suddenly resigned without explanation before the request could even be processed. He then disappeared, and Agatha helped me push the repairs through so she could serve as a temporary gym leader. It's been empty since she passed away, though."

"Why didn't you look into it more, then?" Wallace asked. He posed the question innocently, though Lance experienced difficulty not taking offense.

"I was a bit busy at the time," the Dragon Master grunted, irritated.

"With what?" Wallace continued.

"With Team Rocket." Lance let out a harsh, empty laugh. "It's both infuriating and ironic when I think about it: Team Rocket was the central focus of the G-Men's investigations in the Indigo division, and its leader had been right under our noses the entire time."

"_Was_ the central focus?" Reggie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"They practically vanished several years ago without a trace—around the time Giovanni left his post as gym leader, I've now realized—and they fell on our priority list. This is the first we've heard of them in a while," Lance explained.

"And it seems they've expanded their horizons," Steven added. "Team Rocket typically hasn't been a problem in Hoenn or Sinnoh in the past. The organization was based somewhere in the Kanto region."

"So is Unova not even on the table, then?" Alder asked. "Haven't been any attacks there, not from a 'Mewtwo' at least. But we're dealing with our own problems with Team Plasma around..."

"_Team Rocket wants to take over the world_, Alder," Lance emphasized. "Unova's definitely on the table, even if we haven't seen it yet."

"Well, what do you think Delia?" Solidad asked, bringing the conversation back to its original point. "You were with Giovanni for a while. Do you think he would be someone to believe in prophecies and legends?" Delia blinked.

"Um," she hesitated, wiping her reddened eyes clear of water. "I... don't know, to be honest. It wasn't something we ever talked about, and I'm not even sure that I believe in them."

"All right," Leaf began slowly. "Let's assume Giovanni doesn't know anything about Ash's Shamouti prophecy, or that if he does, he doesn't believe it. But Ash and his friends have done other things that merit attention, like encountering, saving, and befriending Legendaries."

"Do you think Giovanni's after Legendaries, then?" Tracey asked the girl, tilting his head.

"It certainly would be a good way to take over the world, wouldn't it?" Leaf straightened up.

"But it would also mean Giovanni's operating by a very _dangerous_ mentality," Lance continued. "And by dangerous, I mean dangerous to Ash and his companions—including you, Brock and Tracey—because it would mean you're all not really the focus of Team Rocket's goals. You're an obstacle. You don't have anything important to offer to him. In Giovanni's eyes, you're expendables, and he'll wipe you out the first chance he gets."

"Well, nothing important other than Ash is his son," Leaf reminded him.

"But Giovanni doesn't know that," Lance replied calmly.

"I'm just suggesting that perhaps we could use that fact to our advantage," Leaf expounded.

"And what would you suggest we do Leaf?" Lance began sternly. "Have Ash send Giovanni a Christmas card and sign it, 'By the way, I'm your son. Please don't kill me and take over the world?' Who's to say he'd believe us?" He paused before adding, "Who's to say he'd even _care_?"

* * *

"Maybe someone should go talk to him..." Ritchie suggested, worried.

The younger half of the household sans Ash and Leaf were all hanging out in the guest room the girls had been sleeping in since the "boy's room" was currently being occupied by a very sulky Ash. He had been locked up in his bedroom since that morning and had been turning away anyone who tried to speak to him about what happened. Everyone thought he would _at least_ be down for lunch since he absolutely loved eating and would probably be hungry since he'd skipped breakfast, but he had ordered May away when she tried to tell him that food was ready. It was now approaching dinner, and Ash still had not emerged from his bedroom.

"I think he just needs some time alone," Cilan said.

"He's had time alone all day," Paul grumbled.

"Just put yourself into his shoes for a moment, Paul," Zoey advised. "Just think, what if you found out your father was the leader of Team Rocket and that he's out to get you and your friends?" Paul's lips tightened.

"I don't _have_ a father," he replied coldly. Zoey reeled back from the especially harsh tone in his voice and decided to no longer push the subject. Dawn cast the mauve-haired trainer a curious, but concerned glance.

"No?" the blue-haired coordinator asked. Dawn knew she shouldn't pry, but his reaction to Zoey's question had spiked her curiosity. Besides, she wasn't _really_ expecting him to answer. He had ignored her and her questions half the time, anyway—which was why she was surprised when he actually mustered up a quick reply.

"Reggie's my legal guardian," he explained curtly, the severity of his voice dropping off. A brief silence followed his statement before Drew picked up the conversation again.

"I'm leaning towards the side that someone needs to go tell Ash to snap out of it," he said, folding his arms. "I feel bad for him, but it is what it is, and he might as well deal with it. Just... accept it and leave it all behind. I mean, I don't like my father much either." Now it was May's turn for her interest to be piqued. This was the first she'd heard her rival openly admit what she up to that point could only guess: that he disliked his father.

"I'd be willing to bet your dad's not a part of an evil organization, though," Kenny refuted.

Drew was silent in response, and Barry picked up the conversation.

"It's the same idea though, isn't it?" he asked.

"Yes and no," Dawn chimed in. All eyes were now turned to her. "It's difficult to explain, but I understand exactly how Ash is feeling right now. I have never talked to, or even seen a picture of my father. I don't even know his name. My mom never told me, I think, because she doesn't want me to go looking for him. After he found out my mom was pregnant, he ran, and she never saw him again. I know in reality that doesn't speak highly of him, but since I've never actually met him, I can just perpetuate this imaginary idea that he's actually a really good guy and that he misses my mom and loves me. I think Ash built up a similar kind of fantasy about his own father, but that fantasy was burst today." There were a few hums in new understanding.

"I never thought of it that way..." confessed Trip, who had a surprising hint of sympathy in his voice. Iris noticed this and was slightly taken aback. It wasn't necessarily that she thought Trip was incapable of compassion, but he and Ash had never gotten along well, and Trip hadn't expressed much concern (or even regard) for him in earlier situations both here in Kanto and back in Unova.

"Anyway," Dawn continued with a wave of her hand, "I'm actually going to agree with Ritchie and Drew and the others. Someone should try to talk to Ash and at least get him to come down to dinner. _Gently_, though."

"Right." The mention of his name seemed to pull Drew back into reality. He then turned a sly eye toward Misty, who had been sitting quietly beside Iris most of the evening. "I'm going to elect Misty." The Cerulean Gym Leader's head snapped up in surprise.

"What?" she asked, a little sharply.

"I think that's actually a good choice," Cilan agreed. "After all, you've known Ash the longest."

"Yeah!" Barry exclaimed, a grin breaking out across his face. "You guys are like best friends, right? He liked to talk about you a lot, even though I didn't care." A hint of a blush crawled up Misty's neck upon hearing that new bit of information.

"I-I didn't know that," she stammered, unsure of what else to say.

"And, you know..." Drew began with a flick of his hair and a smirk. Misty shot him a warning glare. She had a feeling where he was going to drag this conversation next, and she was mentally preparing to punch his stupid pretty-boy face if he did, even if meant putting a bit of strain on her and May's friendship. "... it could earn you some brownie points with him." Misty restrained herself.

"Drew," she said tersely, "shut up."

Dawn's blue eyes suddenly lit up with child-like excitement.

"Wait. So-" she began before Misty cut her off.

"-Dawn. I know what you're thinking, and I have just one thing to tell you: Stop," Misty said.

"Arceus," Paul muttered, "so there's actually someone who's romantically _attracted_ to Ash?"

"Mew bless your soul, Misty. He's so thick-skulled, he doesn't notice any of that kind of stuff," May said, shaking her head, though she was smiling. Misty stopped and a mischievous smirk of her own spread across her. At that moment, she realized _just_ how she could turn this around on Drew, if she played her cards right.

"Sounds like someone I know," she commented casually, looking pointedly at May. The female coordinator tilted her head to the side, confused, while Drew's expression deadpanned, realizing what Misty was attempting to do.

"Who?" May asked. Misty sighed.

"Never mind," she droned.

Drew seemed to relax, thinking she had dropped it. Misty was far from done, however; she straightened up from where she was sitting, looking resolved.

"All right, fine, I'll talk to Ash. But I'll need something..." she said, her voice trailing off.

"Need what?" Max inquired.

"Jelly-filled doughnuts," Misty answered. "They're his favorite."

"Why?" Drew questioned with an eyebrow raised.

"The only way I'm going to be able to get him to talk to me is if I have food," Misty explained.

"May already tried that earlier at lunchtime," Drew dismissed.

"Yes, but not with jelly-filled doughnuts," Misty pointed out. "In fact, Drew, since you were the one who so kindly volunteered me, why don't you be the one to go to the store and buy a dozen? Shops in Viridian City are open 'till midnight on Christmas Eve."

"How about _no_," Drew snorted. "It's like 40 degrees outside right now." Misty expected this sort of answer, and strategically cast a 'please help me' glance at May, who promptly noticed her friend's plea and cleared her throat to speak.

"Oh, Drew, it isn't that bad," she coaxed, completely unaware of the fact she was being manipulated. "You can hop on Flygon and be there and back within the hour. And you can borrow my scarf if you need something extra to keep you warm." Misty literally could not have asked for more perfect words coming from May, and she didn't even have to tell her to say them. The redhead mentally crossed her fingers, silently hoping Drew would take the bait.

"... Fine," Drew conceded, standing up and grabbing his coat. Misty's lips curled upward: hook, line, and sinker.

Then, to top it off: "Thank you, Drew," May said with her usual sweet smile, still oblivious to what had happened. It was then that Drew realized he had completely fallen into Misty's trap. He took a moment to look around at the expressions, which were all either ones of suspicion or amusement (or, if they really didn't care, indifference), of his fellow trainers. He gritted his teeth slightly, knowing there was no way he could go back on his agreement and unwind the damage he'd done.

"No problem," he mumbled, annoyed. He cast Misty, who had a rather smug smile on her face at the moment, a 'you win this round' look before exiting the room and heading downstairs. As soon as he was gone, Kenny let out a hearty laugh.

"Well, would'ja look at that?" he chortled. "Who would've thought the great Prince of Coordinating would obey the Princess of Hoenn's every command? Guess that's what love does to people. Kind of appropriate, though, when you think about it."

"Yeah, you have him completely wrapped around your finger, May!" Iris said, impressed. May, however, knitted her eyebrows together and looked at the Dragon-type trainer with befuddlement.

"What do you mean?" she asked. Iris blinked, a little taken aback. Everyone else in the room, aside from Misty, seemed just as surprised.

"It's an expression," Paul explained gruffly. "She means Drew is so enamored with you that he's willing to do anything you tell him to. And, he obviously is." May's cheeks flushed pink.

"W-what?" she stammered nervously. "Oh no, you all have it wrong: Drew and I are just rivals, he'd never think of me in that sort of way. In fact, all he ever really does is make fun of me!" Paul stared at her wordlessly, which after a while made May slightly uncomfortable, but he eventually turned away and, folding his arms, muttered something incoherent under his breath.

"May, did you not see what happened at all?" Zoey asked incredulously, though she was fighting off a sort of amused smile. "He flat-out refused Misty when she asked him for a favor, but once you entered the equation, he suddenly seemed a little more willing."

"What's that got to do with anything?" May retorted, though she was still blushing.

"Everything!" Zoey laughed, a little exasperated.

"Besides May, remember all those roses he used to give you?" Max piped up.

"Aw, May, he gave you roses?" Dawn cooed. "That's so sweet! Now I'm completely convinced he's into you."

"Th-those roses were for Beautifly!" May argued back. "He said so himself."

"Arceus, she _is_ almost as bad as Ash," Gary said in a half-whisper. Ritchie, who was the only one close enough to hear him, hummed in agreement.

"Well, geez!" Barry exclaimed. "I don't know much about this stuff, but seriously, even I can tell Drew totally likes you, and I've only known you guys for three days!"

"And that's saying something," Dawn added. "May, the kid _with ADHD_ who has trouble paying attention to details even managed to pick up that there's something going on between you two."

"There's nothing going on between us! It's like I said, we're rivals!" May was refusing to give in, and after a while, every one else did.

"You know, there's a part of me that kind of feels bad for Drew," Gary grumbled in low voice.

"Rival-zoned," Kenny stated simply, folding his arms and nodding. His tone made it sound like he was mourning.

"The worst kind of zoning there is," Barry added.

* * *

"Pika?"

Pikachu hesitantly crawled up beside Ash, who was laying flat on his back with his head turned toward the open window. The Electric-type's heart ached from seeing his trainer this way. Ash had been depressed before, but never like this. Pikachu wasn't sure how to handle it; he had reeled through a spectrum of emotions—from sympathy, to hopelessness, to anger, and back to sympathy—for the past couple of hours. He had considered giving the trainer a quick electric shock to jolt him back into reality, but each time he was about to do so, he backed down at the last moment. The Mouse Pokémon didn't want to make an already terrible situation worse.

Ash petted his partner on the head, but he said nothing, nor did his listless expression change. Pikachu's ears lowered, and he sighed. He just couldn't understand why this was happening. He and Ash had always been there for each other, even in the toughest of situations. When Ash was down, Pikachu usually managed to cheer him up, even if just a little bit. This time, however, the boy had completely cut himself off, even from his closest and most loyal companion.

The winds outside picked up, and the curtains on the window billowed toward them, welcoming to cold winter breeze inside. Ash shivered, feeling the goosebumps on his arms rise from the chill. He honestly hadn't intended to stay in his room for so long. Earlier, he had kept telling himself, "Oh, I'll be downstairs for lunch," or, "Oh, I'll be downstairs before sunset." But lunch had passed long ago, and night had fallen. He was in a rut, and he couldn't pull himself out: His _father_, the fantastic heroic figure he had always looked up to during his childhood, was actually Giovanni, perhaps the greatest embodiment of evil and cruelty to Pokémon the nation had ever known.

His gut twisted. When he thought about it too much, the whole situation sickened him.

As another gust of wind rushed into his bedroom, Ash could hear the wind chimes from the front porch downstairs jingling a discordant tune. Not long after, there came a knock at his bedroom door.

"Ash?" The muffled voice was distinctly Misty's.

"Go away."

Misty, being Misty, ignored his request and opened the door anyway, peeking inside. A sliver of yellow light from the hallway fell across the darkened bedroom.

"I brought doughnuts."

The boy's head perked up, just the slightest bit, though he still refused to face her.

"... What kind?"

"Jelly-filled."

A beat of silence followed. After a long moment, Ash slowly sat up and turned his head toward the door. His eyes were swollen and red from the several fits of crying he'd gone through. He hoped Misty wouldn't notice, but even if she did, he knew she of all people wouldn't judge him for it. This wasn't the first time she had seen him cry. He smiled crookedly.

"Ah, Mist', you know me too well," he said, rubbing his eyes and inviting her to sit beside him. Misty smiled, elated he had let her in. She shut the door behind her with her hip before climbing onto the bed. Ash grinned as she settled herself across from him, placing the doughnut box between them and opening it up to reveal a batch of the rather delicious-looking pastries.

"They're all yours," Misty clarified.

"_All_ mine?"

"I think you deserve them after a day like today."

Ash lowered his head slightly, frowning. He figured this would come up.

"... Well, I don't want to be a Tepig and eat them all myself," he protested.

"Ash, you already _are_ a Tepig. I'm pretty sure you eat more than a Munchlax."

"Come on, have one with me."

Misty smirked and said, "All right, if you insist."

The two trainers then ceremoniously took a doughnut from the box and bit into it, savoring the sweet raspberry jelly filling inside. The pair was silent for a couple of minutes as they enjoyed their treat, but both were carefully planning the inevitable discussion hanging over their heads. Misty didn't want to let her big mouth run and accidentally say something that would worsen Ash's mood, and Ash wanted to figure out how he could seriously have open conversation about this whole situation without breaking down. He had to be honest with himself, though; if he had to pick someone to talk to, it would without a doubt be the person sitting across from him right now.

Misty was the first to speak: "So... how are you feeling?"

Ash shrugged.

"I dunno..." He was twiddling his thumbs as he spoke. His gaze was focused on the hangnail on his right index finger.

Misty rolled her eyes.

"Yes you do. Be honest with me. And look at me when you talk." Ash tentatively brought his eyes up to hers.

"I feel awful," he admitted. Pikachu leapt onto his trainer's shoulder and nuzzled his cheek comfortingly. Misty smiled and reached out, affectionately scratching the Electric-type behind the ear.

"You know, you really shouldn't," she said. Ash gave her an odd look, and she quickly amended, "I mean, I'm not saying your disappointment isn't legitimate or is silly. I think it's completely understandable. It's just, Drew said something that I really liked: You can't decide who your parents are, so..." She paused, thinking of the best way to end that statement. "... don't let what they do decide who you are. You aren't Giovanni. If anything, you're like your mom, and she's one of the nicest people I've ever met." Ash shook his head.

"That's not the problem."

"It isn't?"

Ash hesitated before saying, "Well, it sort of is. It's only a small part of it though. Am I upset Giovanni's my real dad? Yeah. But you're right, I'm not him. The part that gets me the most is that because of me, everyone here is in danger. You, May, Dawn, Cilan... all these people I really care about. And my mom... I can't help but think it would be better off if I was never born." Misty inhaled sharply.

"Don't you _dare_ say anything like that, Ash Ketchum," she chastised.

"Well, it's true, isn't it?" he demanded, his voice cracking.

"No, it's not," Misty insisted. "Ash, there's a room full of people who love you and value your friendship."

"Even Paul? And Trip? And Dr-"

"-OK, so maybe three-fourths a full room of people. That's not my main point," Misty interjected. She took in a deep breath for continuing, "Ash, the thing is, I'd go through hell and high water for you. I already have a couple of times. This is just another of those times. And you know what, I bet May and Dawn and Cilan and most everyone else would do the exact same thing. From what I've heard, many of them already have, too. That's how much you mean to people. So, how can you even think things would be better off if you weren't born? Besides, you're the Chosen One. We'd all be in big trouble if you weren't around." Ash forced a smile.

"I didn't think that mattered anymore. Even my own mom is skeptical about whether I'm the Chosen One or not."

Misty's eyelids fell and she added in a gentle, but very serious voice, "... But I'm not."

Ash was stunned. He really had no idea how to respond to that. When it became obvious to Misty that he had no intentions of saying anything, she continued, "Now, dinner's supposed to start soon. I know you've already had a couple of doughnuts, but do you think you can fit in some dinner?" Ash grinned.

"You know I always have room for more food!" he laughed. His face fell again before he added, "But, I don't know how I can face everyone..." Misty shrugged.

"The same way you always do."

"Huh?"

She reached out and playfully flicked his nose.

"With that stupid grin of yours, of course."

**_December 24th, 2001. Late Evening. Location Unknown._**

Sleep was becoming harder for Giovanni to come by. Not in the sense that he felt burdened with terrible guilt, or was so anxious that his restless mind would refuse him rest. His mind _was_ restless, though it was for reasons quite opposite to those previously mentioned. It was excitement, child-like, almost. Like when a little boy or girl gets a new toy.

He smirked and swiveled around in his chair to look at Mewtwo, who was currently being contained by the same (albeit, far more advanced) technology they had used to accomplish the same task on top of Mt. Quena several years earlier. He took a tepid sip of his red wine, his smirk widening as he did so, because he had a new toy, too.

Well, he would soon. Team Rocket's scientists' technology hadn't been perfected yet. Although they had managed to successfully capture and retain Mewtwo, they had yet to control him. They had been close several times, but not close enough. Mewtwo's will was still overpowering his suit, which was currently under renovation to improve its forced obedience power.

Suddenly, Giovanni's phone rang. He set down his glass of wine and swiftly answered the call, turning on the speaker phone option.

"Agent 009," he regarded, having recognized the Caller ID: Domino "Black Tulip" Williams, or as the organization knew her, 009.

"Sir, my apologies for calling so late," the female Rocket agent's voice rang through the air, "but I thought you might be interested to know that we've found them, in the most obvious of locations."

"That so?"

"Yes," Domino confirmed. "One of our undercover agents picked up on a lead this evening, in Viridian City. He recognized Drew Hayden perusing the aisles in the local grocery store." Giovanni cocked an eyebrow.

"Who's Drew Hayden? He is of no concern to me."

"He should be. He's May Maple's boyfriend. Moreover, he was present at the attack in Petalburg. We identified him as the boy with the Absol in that video Mewtwo's headgear recorded."

"Ah. Add him to Section B of Project Legendary then. Mark him 'Yellow.'"

"Already been done, sir."

"Excellent. Go on."

"So that agent contacted me, and I did a bit of investigating. It turns out Lance and the other Champions have been, as we speculated, sending those who were attacked and who they may think are in danger into hiding, but they've all been sending them to the _same place_. I had some tech grunt hack into the PokéAirlines Network, and we learned that the Maple family, along with Dawn Berlitz, Paul Rebolledo, Iris Ajagara, the whole enchilada, all flew out to Viridian City within the past week. We think they're actually in Pallet Town, the hometown of that Ash kid. Makes it easy for us, huh? We won't have to order these sporadic attacks across the regions anymore. They're all packaged into one convenient location."

Mewtwo's eyelids cracked open as he heard this.

"Yes, well, while that may _sound_ convenient, it makes things a little tricky," Giovanni mused.

"How so?"

"Lance is many things, but he's no fool. He wouldn't put all those people into one place without major protection. That whole town is likely saturated with G-Men agents."

"Oh." The excitement in Domino's voice dropped off.

"Not to worry though," Giovanni continued, glancing toward Mewtwo once again. The Psychic-type weakly lifted his head and sent the man a harsh glare. "We have a secret weapon."

"Mewtwo? Not to sound rude, sir, but he hasn't done much of anything except make things more complicated by turning this into a game of hide-and-seek. Moreover, if a small group of kids can chase off Mewtwo, then an entire town full of G-Men agents would have no problem."

"That doesn't worry me," Giovanni dismissed. "It's true; I've underestimated Mewtwo's will again. However, Dr. Zager has proposed a new tactic of getting Mewtwo fully under our control. Once we have that, no amount of G-Men agents will be able to handle him." Mewtwo's fists clenched, though he knew he was powerless to do anything in his current state.

Except...

"What new tactic?" Domino demanded.

"Don't worry yourself. Jessie and James are helping Dr. Zager out."

Domino audibly scoffed, but she didn't say anything against the choice of agents.

"Well, how long are we gonna wait around then?"

"Once Dr. Zager has everything he needs, he said he hopes it will only take a couple of days to update the suit."

As Mewtwo perfected his focus and established the connection he desired to make, the world around him began to fade out as another came pouring in.

_**December 24th, 2001. Late Evening. Pallet Town.**_

Ash inhaled sharply as he awoke. He quickly sat up and scrambled for the notepad and pen he decided to keep under his pillow upon Leaf's suggestion nearly 24 hours before then. He scribbled down the bits and pieces of words and phrases he could remember: "Giovanni" ... "Mewtwo" ... "We've found them" ... "Couple of days"... As his pencil dragged across the paper, the details of his dream, as they always did, began to wither away until they were nothing but a distant part of his memory.

The trainer breathed out as he scanned over his list. He soon realized that implication of even the few words he's written down appeared far too serious to wait for morning.

Ash slowly rose to his feet, examining his surroundings. All his roommates had rejoined him that evening and were sleeping around him peacefully.

After Misty had finally convinced Ash to go downstairs for dinner, everyone had been surprisingly friendly, which Ash appreciated. He'd received a couple of welcoming hugs from May and Dawn (after which he sent Misty a smug look and said, "See? I'm not the only huggy person around here!"), and everyone resisted making any snide remarks. That was strange; he was expecting _at least_ Gary to make some sort of jab.

It was then that Ash realized that everyone was tip-toeing around him. He understood why, but he wished they wouldn't. It wasn't necessarily that he _wanted_ to talk about Giovanni and Mewtwo and everything that had happened, but he knew that was the only way anything would ever get done and, more importantly, the only way they could figure out how to make everyone safe again.

He tried to bring the topic up, but the conversation didn't last long.

"You know," Ash began quietly after a tentative bite of his food, "you guys don't have to try to be nice and avoid talking about what happened this morning with me around." He was addressing the whole of the group, the adults included. Lance allowed a rare smirk to reach his face upon this comment, and he straightened up.

"I'm really glad you said that, Ash," he began amiably, "because there's something I wanted to talk to you about..." Ash's head perked up, but before Lance had a chance to go into further detail, Cynthia hastily interrupted him.

"_Lance_," she said sharply. "We will discuss this later."

"Yes," Delia agreed with a weak smile. Ash noticed his mother's eyes were red and puffy, like his were earlier. She had been crying, too. "Let's just enjoy dinner tonight and Christmas tomorrow." There were several tentative murmurs in agreement. Ash sunk into his chair and exchanged a furtive glance with Leaf. She raised her eyebrows, regarding him, before taking a sip of her drink. She wasn't going to talk.

Ash, however, soon forgot all about the awkward dinner atmosphere. Afterward, he ended up spending a good hour or two with his mother, which, in truth, was as necessary for him as it was for her. They didn't talk much about Mewtwo and Giovanni. That discussion was again avoided. She really just wanted to reiterate how much she loved him and how sorry she was. Ash assured her she had nothing to be sorry about.

Bedtime came shortly thereafter, and whatever Lance had planned to say to them was lost somewhere along the way. Ash assumed they would get around to it in the morning, but morning now seemed too far away to wait.

As he had done several nights before then, Ash quietly crept through his room, taking special care not to step on anyone. Nine, he decided, was far too big a number of people to stay in one bedroom. He slipped out the door and went across the hall to the guest room, where the girls were sleeping. Ash hesitated as he raised his hand to knock. He didn't really want to wake anyone up, but he supposed he had no choice.

He lightly rapped on the wooden door. There was a brief delay before someone answered.

"Ash?" Leaf inquired drowsily, brushing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Leaf," Ash began seriously, "I had another dream. I took your advice and wrote everything I could remember down. I think Giovanni knows where we are." Leaf suddenly seemed _very_ much awake.

"Let me see that," she demanded, snatching the pad away from him. She hastily read over each word and phrase before looking back up at Ash and saying, "Follow me."

She didn't give him a choice, however, as she gripped his wrist and practically dragged him downstairs into the living room, where several of the adults were sleeping on the coaches and blow-up mattresses. Leaf went over to the sofa where Lance was situated and shook him awake. The Indigo Champion stirred and grunted as she repeated his name in an urgent whisper.

"What's the matter, Leaf?" Lance asked once he had come to himself, rising to his feet.

"Lance, we have to to tell Cynthia that we can't appease Delia any longer," Leaf answered, her tone nearly desperate. "You were right; we have to do something _now_." Ash's attention snapped toward the young G-Men agent after she mentioned his mother.

"Appease my mom? Wha-?" Before anyone had a chance to answer Ash's question, Reggie, who had previously been lightly snoozing next to Maylene on a nearby mattress, lifted his head.

"Lance? Is something wrong?" he asked with concern.

"Reggie, could you please go wake up Cynthia and the others?" Leaf requested, decidedly not answering his question. Reggie seemed unperturbed by this, however, as he nodded and stumbled to his feet, disappearing into the other room.

"Appease my mom?" Ash repeated, now sounding a little impatient.

"Delia requested we avoid moving forward in our business with Giovanni and Mewtwo, at least until Christmas was over," Lance explained shortly.

"She felt bad about what happened this morning, and she seemed to think this whole thing was ruining everyone's holiday," Leaf added. "That's why it wasn't talked about at dinner this evening." Soon, Cynthia, Steven, Wallace, and Alder entered the room and the conversation, with Reggie following behind.

"What's happened?" Alder asked Lance seriously as they approached. Lance then looked to Leaf, who had yet to explain herself.

"Ash has had another dream," she began, folding her arms. "He thinks Giovanni knows where we are and is coming."

"As in right now?" Wallace asked, his voice rising slightly.

"No," Ash interjected, shaking his head. All eyes were suddenly on him. "A couple of days. See? Here, I wrote down a couple of days."

"Excellent, so we have some time to figure the best response to Ash's dreams and formulate a plan," Steven mused.

"Er, I don't think they're dreams exactly," Ash chimed in. "I think... I think this is Mewtwo's way of communicating with me. I think this is him warning us." Leaf paused to cast Ash a sideways glance, her eyes slowly scanning over him.

"Whatever the case," Lance began, "I already have a plan."

"You do?" Leaf's head snapped back toward Lance.

"Yes," Lance affirmed. "I've actually been mulling over something like it for the past couple of days."

"Go on, Lance," Cynthia pressed, her voice even.

"Giovanni wants Ash and company out of the picture," Lance began bluntly. "Why is still not clear. However, if Ash is already out of the way, then Giovanni has no reason to send his forces and Mewtwo to Pallet. It'd be a waste of his time, especially if Leaf's theory is correct, and he has bigger plans in place. Therefore, I propose we put on a bit of a show. If we make it appear that Ash and his friends are no longer an issue, then Giovanni will obviously stop pursuing them."

"Are you suggesting..." Wallace started skeptically, nearly stupefied by the implications Lance seemed to be making "... a faked death?"

"If that's what it takes, then yes," Lance said frankly.

A long period of silence followed; the other Champions seemed to be processing the proposition still. Ash was, too, but he looked to Leaf for her reaction. It was clear from her expression that she had already formed her opinion.

"I would be willing to go along with that," she decided. "Imagine the headlines: 'Tragedy in Kanto, 17 dead after fatal bus crash.'"

"A _bus crash_?" Steven seemed doubtful, but also unwilling to really protest.

"Deadly fire, bubonic plague, whatever excuse works, I suppose," Leaf said, shrugging. "The point is, Giovanni won't go looking for Ash and the others if he thinks they're already dead. It's brilliant."

"If all 16 of Ash's companions die, it will look highly suspicious," Steven remarked. "We shouldn't underestimate Giovanni's intelligence. He would know something was awry."

"Then we omit a few people as victims," Cynthia suggested. The other Champions appeared surprised that she seemed to be willing to go along with Lance's plan. Even Leaf seemed surprised. Cynthia continued, "I'll admit it's a risky move, but it would work if we pulled it off correctly."

"All right." Steven seemed more willing to yield now that his wife was in agreement. "However, this can't be something orchestrated with only a cursory effort."

"I'm aware, Steven," Lance interjected. "They will need to leave Pallet Town; there's no doubt about that."

"And there will need to be a real scene, news cameras, a press conference," Cynthia added.

Ash sat down on the sofa, trying to process what was being said—what of his fate was being decided without his input.

.

.


	9. VIII: In Which Cilan Climbs a Tree

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Chapter VIII: In Which Cilan Climbs a Tree

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.

**_December 25th, 2001. Early Morning. Pallet Town._**

It was a strange feeling, knowing today was the day you were going to die.

Fictionally, but that was beside the point.

Drew slipped outside into the cool winter morning weather to get away from the stiff atmosphere in the house. The squeak of the front door garnered Lance's attention, and the Champion turned to look at him. A Swablu with a small envelope—containing a letter addressed to Clair, Drew imagined—attached to its foot was perched on the Dragon Master's shoulder.

Their eyes connected for a brief moment before Lance grunted and turned away, releasing the Swablu. Drew took this as a sign that Lance wasn't about to order him back inside, so he continued on his way.

Everyone had been roused from their beds perhaps an hour or two earlier for hold an important meeting, in which the Champions revealed their newest, if not their most radical, plot to keep Ash and his posse (of which, Drew supposed, he was now inadvertently a part) safe from Giovanni.

"I'm sorry, this just sounds so _out there_," commented Johanna, who was seated close beside her daughter. "I'm afraid I just don't see the necessity of creating a tragedy that _kills_ our children."

"We realize this may seem like we're overreacting," Cynthia conceded, "but we have reason to be concerned. If Giovanni knows where we are, it won't be long until he sends Mewtwo and his forces after us."

"I thought that was why the G-Men were here," Trip grumbled under his breath, "in case they did."

"That was before we knew this Pokémon was Mewtwo," Cynthia explained. "If Mewtwo is as powerful as what's been described to us, well... should Giovanni gain complete control over him, then I'm afraid I can't say I would have full confidence in our defenses."

"Why don't we just move somewhere else then? Away from Pallet Town?" Maylene suggest amiably.

"Because Giovanni will just find us again," Lance answered curtly. "I can't tell you exactly how Team Rocket would have found our location, but it was probably through technological footprints."

"Technological footprints?" Ritchie inquired.

"Team Rocket's a highly advanced crime organization; they have people on staff capable of tapping into phone conversations, hacking networks, and tracking personal credit cards. When this began, we did not foresee our enemy being this digitally savvy," Lance explained. "In any case, even if we were to only cut you off digitally and move you elsewhere, they would find you through other means. This is why we convince them there's no longer any reason to seek after you; the best way to ensure that is making them think you're dead." A brief period of silence followed. Everyone seemed to be taking a moment to process everything that had been said.

"OK." Zoey was the first the speak up. "So... What does dying entail for us?" Her voice was glazed over and scratchy, and she had asked the question tepidly, sounding a little unsure of herself. The gaze of many of her peers fell upon her, since she apparently seemed to be the first one open to submitting herself into this conspiracy.

Cynthia inhaled before she answered, "You'll leave Pallet Town tonight by bus and head off into the Virdian Forest. Once you're deep enough in the forest, we'll drop you off and set fire to the bus. You'll have a guide, a trusted G-Men agent, and he or she will lead you into Johto and Blackthorn. Lance's cousin, Clair, will take care of you from there and keep you hidden in the Dragon's Den. The journey will take a little over a week and a half on-foot—not a problem, I'm sure, since all of you have traveled before—however, you will not be able to stop in any towns or places that have people around them for obvious reasons. The only people in the world who will know all of you are actually alive is everyone who is in this house right now, Clair, and a select few outside G-Men agents."

"What about our families, for those of us whose family isn't here?" Kenny asked earnestly. There was an uncomfortable pause among the Champions.

"Unfortunately, we can't take that risk," Lance finally spoke up. "Having the more than thirty people here know is already _way_ too much. I understand it is asking a lot of you. Your friends and families outside those here will not know. However, the other option is, I'm sure you realize, less appealing."

Drew took a moment then to glance around and look at the expressions of his fellow trainers—which turned out to be the part that prompted him to leave and get some fresh air. He didn't know most of these people very well (only three or four days by then), but their expressions and reactions were heart-wrenching. Cilan's face had paled slightly and he lifted his hand to his chin, obviously in a deep inner turmoil. He was more than likely thinking about his brothers, Chili and Cress. Barry, the extravagantly upbeat and hyperactive person of the group, had a similar expression of distress. He had his father, the Frontier Brain Palmer, to think about.

Misty had her two other sisters, Lily and Violet. Zoey had Candice. Kenny had his parents. Brock had his entire family. Everyone had someone.

Except, perhaps himself.

"However," Cynthia continued, "we have also agreed that setting up a conspiracy that kills _all_ of you would look far too suspicious to Giovanni. So... if there are a few of you who aren't willing to go through with it..."

They turned everyone loose shortly after that to think things over, or to start packing. That was when Drew slipped outside. By now, he had meandered over to a nearby frozen pond in a grassy field behind the Ketchum residence. He didn't think it was possible, but Pallet Town was actually _smaller_ and more quaint than Petalburg had been, with its open valleys and several houses scattered here and there.

There was a part of him that wondered where he would be if he had simply conceded to going home for the holidays. He wasn't close with Ash; he knew him by association with May. Ash wouldn't have sent for him, which would have meant that tomorrow morning, he would wake up with the rest of the world and turn on the news to hear about the terrible tragedy in the Viridian Forest. He would think his rival, May Maple, was dead. Although he had never considered the possibility before, such a thing would be crushing to him.

He suddenly had a better understanding of what his fellow trainers were grappling with right now. If they decided to step up and submit themselves into the plan, then they would break the hearts of all their loved ones outside the know. Of course, there would come a point when it would be revealed that they were alive the entire time. But that would happen only after this whole mess with Giovanni and Mewtwo was cleaned up, and that could take weeks, months, perhaps even years.

"I don't think Lance is very happy to see you out here."

Drew didn't have to turn around to see who it was; he already knew.

"He can deal," Drew replied shortly.

Solidad came up from behind him and sat down beside him in the dry, yellowing grass. He cast her a quick glance to regard her presence, and she offered him a reassuring smile. They were silent for quite a while, but it wasn't in an awkward or tense kind of manner. He was very comfortable with Solidad, and vice versa. There were a lot of things that could be said between them without the use of words.

"I'm going to go with them," Drew declared finally after a few minutes.

"I expected you would," Solidad admitted.

"I don't have any reason to stay behind," he continued. He plucked a dying flower near the frozen pond's edge, twirling its stem with his fingers. "You're here. May's here. You two are all I care about, so I won't have any regrets when my name shows up in the news tomorrow."

"Not Harley?"

He stared.

"Joke," she added, smiling. "But, he's here, too, so I guess it wouldn't matter if you did." He nodded, but said nothing. Solidad reached out and brought him into a sort of half-embrace. He didn't really reciprocate, but he made no move to push her off.

"Oh, Drew," she began with a sigh, "you must promise me you'll be careful."

He scoffed.

"I'm not five, Solidad. I've traveled by myself before. If I were you, I'd be a lot more worried about May, if she decides to go. I swear, I don't know how she gets around in Johto without Ash and Brock and her brother pointing her in the right direction. I doubt she could find her way out of a paper bag." Solidad chuckled as she pulled away from him.

"Well, it isn't about navigation; it's about safety. I overheard Norman and Caroline talking to her and Max inside. May's adamant about going, which her parents are uneasy about, of course, but they're letting her leave. I know they're keeping Max with them, though. They're worried because he doesn't have his own Pokémon yet. May, at least, does." Drew head perked up slightly upon this new bit of information.

"Makes sense," he replied after a moment, though there was a tone of solemness in his voice. Even though he was (and he knew this was wrong) glad May was tagging along, it meant the Maple family was breaking up for Arceus-knows-how-long. Silence fell again. The wind picked up for a moment, and the air grew especially chilly.

"You do realize that you probably won't be back in time for Johto Grand Festival," Solidad remarked thoughtfully. Drew blinked; the Johto Grand Festival hadn't even crossed his mind. She was right, though. The festival was supposed to be in late January, less than a month from now. He somehow doubted Giovanni would be found and arrested before then.

"And after that long delay, too," she finished.

"It doesn't change anything," he said, resolved. Solidad lowered her head.

"I see," she said.

"What?"

"Nothing. You've just grown up a lot from when I first met you." She ruffled his green hair, and he rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled in response, standing up. "Well, I suppose I should go pack—for like the thousandth time these past two weeks." He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jacket and left. Solidad lingered behind for a moment longer though, watching him.

* * *

"Yes, you heard me right." Leaf paused. "At least fifteen or sixteen people. Tonight." She had been talking to a fellow G-Men agent over a disposable cell phone for the past couple of minutes. Barry was close by, watching her anxiously.

"Are we really sure about going with the bus accident?" Steven asked after a long moment. He was sitting next to Cynthia, who was in the middle of typing up a press release for tomorrow regarding the 'accident.' Wallace and Alder were also nearby, each with their own assigned tasks.

"I'd like to see you come up with a better idea, Steven," Lance said dryly. "It's a good cover story on all levels. Giovanni will think we realized that he figured out where we are, and that we tried to move the kids out of town by bus. This plan obviously backfired on us, though, and the bus got into a horrific accident that killed all those on board."

"So what are we going to tell the journalists, then?" Alder asked.

"'The truth, I suppose," Steven replied. Lance stared, furrowing his eyebrows. Steven amended, "I mean that in the sense we shouldn't cover up a conspiracy with another conspiracy. We should tell the media we thought these kids were endangered by Team Rocket, which we believe is the organization behind these attacks, and tried to move them to a safer location. However, the plan shattered when all fifteen or sixteen of them died." Wallace lifted his head, his expression bemused.

"Wouldn't that be a serious hit to the league's reputation?" he asked. "To have something go so terribly wrong under our watch? People will be infuriated."

"But that's _exactly_ why Giovanni will buy into our story," Cynthia elaborated. "He would never expect we would intentionally harm the name of our own organization."

"OK. Yes, thank you. Please keep in contact if anything changes." Leaf hung up and then stuck the phone out to Barry. "All right, you're free to smash this thing up now."

"Sweet!" Barry snatched the phone away from her and ran outside, brushing past Drew, who just happened to be heading back inside at that particular moment. The young coordinator raised an eyebrow toward the blonde before turning and shooting Leaf a 'look.' He then headed upstairs. Leaf rolled her eyes and joined the Champions at the table.

"So what was that whole thing with Brian about?" Alder asked Leaf, gesturing toward the door where Barry had left. She shrugged.

"He's having a rough time with his dad not being here," Leaf explained. "The least I could do was let him stomp on a phone a couple of times. It's like a coping mechanism, I suppose. The thing needed to be destroyed anyway, so might as well let him do it."

"I presume that means he wants to go?" Wallace asked.

"I think most of them do," Leaf said simply.

"Ash draws people to him," Cynthia elaborated. "More than that, his friends are astoundingly loyal, because he'll never lead them astray. It's an appropriate make-up for the Chosen One." Cynthia then pushed the laptop over to Steven so he could look over what she had written thus far. Lance cast her a wary glance, but she ignored him.

"_Dad! Dad! Thank Arceus you're here!_" Barry's excitement could be heard by all from outside.

"Sounds like Palmer's made it," Cynthia said, smiling.

"Good, that will make it easier on Brian then," Alder added. The front door flew open and Barry dragged his father inside by the arm.

"Guys! Lance, Cynthia, everyone, my dad's here! So now I can definitely die!" Palmer looked completely confused upon his son's exclamation.

"That's... great, Barry," Cynthia said. "Palmer, we have a lot of things to tell you."

"Don't worry, Cynthia, I've got it," Johanna said, rounding the corner and entering the room. She smiled at her old friend before looking to his son. "Barry, you should go upstairs and start packing. I'm sure Dawn will be very happy to know you're going." Her eyes were tired; it had been a long morning.

"Right!" Barry grinned. "She'll be totally _psyched_! Now we just have to convince Zoey and Kenny." He quickly zoomed up the stairs after that, leaving the room behind in a sort of baffled silence. After a moment, Leaf cleared her throat.

"Do you think Palmer's ever considered medicating his son?" she said in an undertone to the others. Lance didn't respond, and Steven merely frowned.

* * *

Everything just seemed to get worse, day by day. First, all of his friends had to drop their holiday plans to come to Pallet Town. Then, he found out Giovanni was his father and the driving force behind the recent string of attacks throughout the regions. Now, they were all going to die.

Ash was alone with Pikachu in the room where the video phone was kept, lying flat on a sofa. He wasn't moping like he was yesterday. He needed everyone to give him space last night, and now he was giving everyone else space this morning. As of then, he had no idea who would be and who would not be 'dying.' He had secluded himself immediately after the meeting, since he didn't want to try to influence or pressure anyone into going with him. He would never mean to, of course—but Ash knew his mouth had a way or working without his brain, and he'd hate to unintentionally guilt anyone into doing something they shouldn't have to do.

"_Dad! Dad! Thank Arceus you're here!_"

Ash sat up. Pikachu looked up at his trainer, tilting his head slightly.

"Pika?"

"_Guys! Lance, Cynthia, everyone, my dad's here! So now I can definitely die!_"

So Barry was coming. The edge of Ash's lips curled upwards. He would liven things up for sure.

A couple of minutes later, the door opened, and there stood Johanna and Palmer. They both seemed surprised to see him there by himself.

"Oh, um, sorry Ash," Johanna apologized. "I didn't think anyone would be in here."

"Nah, it's cool, Ms. Berlitz." He offered the woman a crooked grin. "If you need a moment alone to catch Palmer up on stuff, that's fine. I can leave." Pikachu hopped onto his shoulder as he swung his feet over the edge of the couch and stood up. He then squeezed his way past them out the door and into the hallway, where he ran into several other adults—Reggie and Norman and Caroline—but he said nothing to them, keeping his gaze averted.

He couldn't quite understand why he was feeling so shy. Part of it had to do with the lingering shame that hung over his head with all that had happened the past week.

The living room was practically empty. The Champions, and Leaf, were gathered at a table in the corner. Leaf noticed him walking by, and he gave her an awkward little wave before heading into the front room. That was where his mother was, with Brock. Ash lowered his gaze. Of all the people who were having a tough time deciding whether to go or not, Brock was probably experiencing the most difficulties. He had _nine_ siblings, many of which were still very young, and his two parents to consider. While there was a part of Ash that_ really_ wanted Brock, one of his closest and oldest friends, to go into this with him, he knew the former gym leader probably needed to, more than anyone else, stay behind.

"Hello, Ash," Brock greeted, friendly. He looked just as glum as everyone else that Christmas morning.

"Hey," Ash replied. Remembering his personal promise to not be an influence, he hurried past them and went up the stairs. He realized it probably came off as rude, which his mother would chastise him for later, but Ash didn't know what else to do.

In his room, Ash was surprised to find several of his roommates already packing: Ritchie, Drew, Paul, and even Trip. Max was sitting near the window, absentmindedly swinging his feet over the edge of his chair.

"Hi... guys," Ash said tentatively, unsure of how to react. Drew, Paul, and Trip, three of the people who probably disliked him the most, were getting ready to go. He really couldn't wrap his mind around it. Ritchie was at least his friend, so that made some sense. But even in Ritchie's case... Ash knew he had family in Frodomar City. Trip, too, in Nuvema Town. He couldn't speak for Drew or Paul, but nevertheless, Ash couldn't have even begun to describe the overwhelming feeling of gratitude that overcame him. For all of them, whether they had gotten along well in the past or not.

Ritchie was the first to respond to Ash's greeting. He smiled and replied with a simple, "Hey."

"So, you're coming?" Ash asked, approaching his auburn-haired rival and friend. He still sounded a little hesitant. He didn't want to be wrong and make Ritchie feel bad. Ritchie, however, straightened up and nodded.

"Of course," he answered, grinning and patting Ash on the shoulder. "Can't let you have all the fun, can I?"

"I would come, Ash," Max piped up from his seat, "but my mom and dad aren't letting me. May's going, though. I'm pretty sure that's why Drew's going, too. Because he _loooves_ her." Drew took a moment to pause in the middle of his work and shoot the boy a rather nasty glare. Trip apparently found the situation funny, because he snorted back a laugh.

"Yeah, well, that's probably for the better," Paul added gruffly. "There are Pokémon out there that would _eat_ you for a snack." Max turned red with anger.

"For your information, I've traveled before," the boy sputtered, hastily pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, "and I was perfectly _fine_, thank you very much." Paul waved his hand dismissively.

"Whatever," he said. Max folded his arms, pouting.

"Why are _you_ going, anyway? You and Ash don't seem to get along well, so what reason could you possibly have? Did your big brother _make_ you?" he demanded. Paul stopped and turned to face the young boy head-on.

"That's none of your business," he spat.

"OK, seriously, stop fighting. Arceus..." Trip cut in, rolling his eyes. "Now that I've been dragged into this mess, I, for one, am only going because I'd prefer _not_ to be crucified by an overpowered Mew clone. I don't see what other reason anyone else would need." Paul and Max both backed down after that, but the air remained tense.

"What about your family?" Drew asked a little tersely, addressing Trip. The Unova-born's expression grew a little more grave after that question was posed to him.

"I'm going for a walk." He ignored the question entirely as he zipped up his bag, finished. He practically stormed out after that, but not before almost running into Misty, who had slipped into the room shortly after the argument between Paul and Max had ended. Trip brushed past her, muttering an insincere "sorry" before heading downstairs.

"What's his deal?" Misty asked, placing her hands on her hips and looking toward the door indignantly.

"Don't worry about it," Ash reassured her. "Was there something you needed, Mist'?"

"Oh..." She turned to face Ash fully. "I was actually wondering if you and Pikachu wanted to walk down to Professor Oak's lab with me. I need to pick out which Pokémon I'm going to take with me; you should probably do the same." Ash breathed out as she said this, as though he were in awe.

"You're coming?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah," Misty answered, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "What do you think I meant when I said 'hell or high water?'" She was smiling as she said this, which prompted a rather disbelieving expression to cross Paul's face.

"Mew, she really _is_ into Ash," he mumbled under his breath, only loud enough for Drew to hear.

"See? What did I tell you all yesterday?" the male coordinator replied, a little haughtily.

"You can't talk, Frankenstein," Paul protested. "You're the one who's all over that June girl, or whatever her name is."

"It's _May_," Max corrected, annoyed. Paul whipped his head around to face the boy.

"Did I invite you into this conversation?"

Ash, who was completely unaware of argument going on in the background, grinned. It was selfish, and he knew it, but as with Brock, he had hoped Misty especially would come. In a twisted sort of way, it would be fun to travel with her again after all these years.

"Going to Professor Oak's lab sounds like a good idea," Ash finally said. "Whaddaya say, Pikachu?"

"Pikachu!" the trainer's partner agreed.

Ash then turned to Ritchie and asked, "Do you wanna come with us, too?" Ritchie, however, shook his head.

"Nah," he refused. "I need to finish packing here. You two go ahead."

"All right. We'll catch you later then!" Ash waved to Ritchie and the others as he and Misty left the bedroom, closing the door behind them.

"Why'd you say needed to finish packing?" Max asked, addressing Ritchie, after Ash and Misty were gone. "You were done like five minutes ago."

"He's giving Ash the chance to have Misty to himself," Drew sighed, answering the question in Ritchie's stead. "A slick move on your part, Ritchie, but it's an opportunity Ash will not take advantage of."

"Because he's an idiot," Paul added.

"Exactly." Drew nodded. "I'm glad you and I can agree on something, Paul." The Sinnoh-born, however, grunted in response and turned away. Ritchie sighed and rubbed his temples.

This was going to be a _long_ journey.

* * *

"Oh! Sorry, 'scuse us, Solidad," Ash apologized as he and Misty were on their way outside. He had accidentally bumped into the older woman's shoulder when he rounded the corner into the front room.

"That's all right, Ash," the pink-haired coordinator said with a kind smile. "Be careful." Solidad waved them off before wandering into the kitchen, desiring to pour herself a cup of coffee. She wasn't an avid drinker of it, but she really needed a pick-me-up this morning. She was surprised, however, to find Brock also brewing himself a cup.

"Good morning," she greeted.

"Morning," he replied, attempting to sound cheerful. "Coffee, I assume?" She nodded.

"Here," he continued, handing her his cup before proceeding to pour himself another one.

"Thank you," she said graciously. Had it been at any other time, Solidad might have suspected Brock was simply being friendly to win her over. She knew him well enough to see, however, that romance was likely the last thing on his mind right now.

The two trainers then made their way into the dining room to sit down and enjoy their hot drinks. Harley was already situated at the table, reading the newspaper. Reggie and Maylene were also present, and they appeared to be caught up in light conversation. It was cut short, however, when Solidad and Brock joined them.

"My apologies; we didn't mean to intrude," Solidad said politely after the couple quieted down. Maylene shook her head.

"No, you're fine," she assured the female coordinator. "Solidad, right?" Solidad nodded.

"Yes. And if I recall correctly, you're Maylene and Reggie," she stated simply, before turning her attention directly toward Reggie. "You're Paul's older brother, aren't you?"

"That's right," Reggie affirmed.

"Has he decided whether he's going with Ash and the others or not?"

"He has, actually," Reggie replied. "He kind of caught both Maylene and I off-guard. Almost immediately after the meeting this morning, he came to find us and tell us he was packing up to go, and that we wouldn't be able to talk him out. He was so... resolved about it. It was like he didn't even need to give it a second thought."

"Any idea why that is?" Brock asked, his interest piqued. Reggie shrugged.

"I think Paul has a lot more respect for Ash than he's willing to show," he explained shortly, "ever since the Sinnoh league, I mean. What about you?"

"Hm?" Brock intoned.

"Are you going to go with Ash?" Reggie clarified. Brock's expression darkened, and his gaze fell down to the warm brown liquid in his mug.

"I don't know, yet," he confessed. "I feel awful about being so indecisive. There are 14- and 15-year-old kids who want to go with him without question. And then there's me, who changes his mind every couple minutes..."

"That's totally understandable though," Maylene chimed in.

"Right, you have all your brothers and sisters to think about," Reggie added.

"I know," Brock admitted, "but Ash is like a brother to me, and vice versa."

"Which is why he would understand if you stayed behind," Solidad interjected firmly. Everyone in the group seemed surprised that she was taking a stance on the issue. Even Harley, who had remained quiet up to that point, stopped what he was doing to pay attention. Solidad normally didn't interfere like this.

"Solidad... ?" Brock inquired tepidly, unsure of what else to say. The woman melted into a smile, and shook her head.

"I'm sorry," she began kindly. "I suppose I shouldn't bring up my opinion. It's your decision."

"No, you're right," Brock conceded. "Ash will understand. I suppose I'm just worried about him. He can be pretty rash. But, he has Misty to keep his head screwed on straight. I just... can't put my little brothers and sisters through that." He paused before continuing, in a lighter tone, "So, I saw that you were talking to Drew earlier."

"Oh, yes," Solidad affirmed. "He'll be tagging along."

"Yeah, can't let May out of his sight," Harley grumbled. "That kid's been tripping over himself, he's so in love with her, ever since we got to Johto. And I didn't think he could be more obvious while we were competing in Kanto..."

"You sound so bitter about their relationship, though. I'm sure you had _your_ fair share of childhood romances and crushes, didn't you?" Solidad asked playfully.

"Believe me, Solidad, if I had a childhood romance, you of all people would know about it." There was an uncomfortable pause at the implication of his statement, but Brock swept in to amend the situation.

"So, May and Drew, huh?" he began with an uncomfortable laugh. "I _thought_ there was something going on between them while I was traveling with her throughout Hoenn and Kanto."

"Arceus," Harley said, rolling his eyes, "like you wouldn't believe."

Solidad, who seemed unaffected by the situation, hummed in agreement before adding, "He's got it _pretty_ bad for her." There was a collective chuckle among the group, but the sound was hollow. It had no real substance at all.

* * *

"Sheesh, it sounds like this whole thing has really gotten out of hand."

"Tell me about it."

Zoey had borrowed May's PokéNav and used it to call Candice. The original intention was simply to wish her a merry Christmas, but the conversation had eventually turned to other, more serious matters. Candice had already known about the attack in Twinleaf and that Zoey was going to Pallet Town under the protection of the G-Men, but the ever-curious gym leader had demanded to know more about what was going on. So Zoey told her about Mewtwo and Giovanni and Ash's weird dreams, but withheld the information about the planned bus crash.

The thought made her sick, knowing this was possibly the last time she would talk to her childhood friend for a long while—if she decided to go along with the plan. But was there even a question? Dawn and Barry and Kenny had by then declared they were leaving, and though they were in no way trying to put pressure on Zoey, there was this tiny, completely illogical part in her that felt compelled to go.

"Sooo..." Candice drawled, "... If they know who's behind it, how long do you think it's going to be 'till everything back to normal? Cynthia hasn't said anything to any of the gym leaders about this Team Rocket business, and she hasn't lifted the ban on gym battles. Kinda weird, don'cha think? If gym leaders aren't the ones in trouble, then why hasn't Cynthia told any of us that we can breathe a little easier right now?"

Zoey shrugged.

"Maybe because she's worried they're wrong about Ash. Or maybe that's Lance's doing. He's kind of the leader of the Champions. At least, it comes off that way," she said.

"Ugh!" Candice sounded exasperated. "I know I'm not supposed to be jealous of your situation, Zoe-Zoe, but I'm jealous of your situation. I mean, you've gotten to meet so many cool different people! Lance is like my childhood hero."

"He's different in real life than he is on TV," Zoey said. "I guess maybe he's just stressed, though. He fights with Cynthia a lot."

"That's a shame." Candice pushed her bottom lip out, pouting. "I don't want his autograph if he's making your Christmas un-merry." Zoey laughed.

"Well, to be fair, he's trying to just keep us safe," she said. She paused and, feeling her stomach tie itself in knots, continued on nervously, "So, um, that's why..."

"That's why what?" Candice pressed.

"... He wants us to leave for a while. Get on a bus and go into hiding for a bit."

"Where?"

Zoey hesitated; she knew she was wading into dangerous waters. Lance would kill her if he found out she'd told someone about what they were planning to do.

"I probably shouldn't say," Zoey replied wisely. "But, the thing is, it's my choice whether I want to go."

"Of course you should go!"

Zoey blinked.

"What?" she asked, almost as if she hadn't believed what her friend had said. Candice sighed, but offered the redhead a tired smile.

"I'd hate for anything bad to happen to you, Zoe-Zoe," she explained. "You've already been attacked by that thing once—why risk it again? I just want you to be OK." As Candice said this, the door creaked open and in limped Dawn. She had abandoned her crutches that morning, though her ankle still ached with pain whenever she put too much weight on it. Zoey briefly glanced up at her rival, but quickly returned to her present conversation.

"Yeah..." Her voice trailed off, unsure and nervous-sounding. Dawn frowned and hobbled over to the edge of the bed on which Zoey was sitting. She said nothing, but it was clear her presence meant to serve as a form of support for the struggling trainer.

"You might not hear from me for a long time," Zoey suddenly continued.

"That's all right," Candice assured her. "Just as long as my Zoe-Zoe's safe! I mean, a guy like Lance would never let anything bad happen to you all, right?"

Zoey swallowed before replying, "Right." It took all the strength in her to prevent her voice from cracking. Dawn cast her eyes to the ground. She'd always viewed the older girl as a sort of mentor, someone who was strong and could handle themselves well in tough situations both inside and outside the contest hall, which was perhaps why this whole moment was making Dawn so uncomfortable. The illusion was cracking. Even Zoey had her emotional vulnerabilities.

"OK then! It's decided," Candice declared, almost triumphantly. "You get on that bus and you be safe! It is an order, all right?"

"All right," Zoey agreed, monotone. Candice flashed her trademark grin.

"Don't look so sad," she admonished. "Just remember, goodbye is just a way to say, 'Let's meet again soon!'"

_**December 25th, 2001. Noon. Somewhere in Eastern Unova.**_

"Target: located," Jessie said aloud, watching the small, graceful figure glide through the field from her Infrared binoculars. She, James, and Meowth were hidden behind a thicket of brush, looking out for the very thing she had just found.

"Le'mme see, le'mme see!" Meowth exclaimed, jumping to her side. She angrily shushed him but nevertheless handed over the binoculars. Meowth happily took them and peered through the lenses.

"Wow," he whistled. "Dat's her all right. Suppose we should just capture her and take her to ta' Boss?"

"We don't want to cause a fuss and lose her," James reminded the feline Pokémon. "We don't need her—just her voice."

"Right, right," Meowth agreed, stroking his whiskers. "All right 'den. So are we just gonna follow her until she decides she's in a singing mood?"

Jessie, who had repossessed the binoculars and returned to her Poké-watching, nudged James and gestured for him to follow her; apparently, the target was on the move. James lifted up the recording equipment he brought with him before discreetly sneaking after Jessie.

"That's the plan," he said.

_**December 25th, 2001. Afternoon. Pallet Town.**_

"Hey Gramps! Have you seen my trainer's belt around?" Gary poked his head into his grandfather's laboratory as he asked this question. His appearance was quite a bit messier than usual; his brown hair was mussed up, and his shirt was wrinkled and untidy. He hadn't really had time that Christmas day to make himself look presentable. Alder and Wallace had showed up on his doorstep early that morning and invited him, Tracey, Daisy, and Professor Oak back to the Ketchum residence for an important meeting.

And what a meeting it was.

Interestingly, though, Gary wasn't terribly bothered at the thought of 'dying' and disappearing off with Clair for an indiscriminate amount of time. Was it inconvenient? Of course. Did he think Lance and the other Champions were idiots for letting things get this far out of hand? Sure. Was he upset, though? Not really. His grandfather knew of the plan, and he didn't care much about anyone else.

Besides, he'd been looking for a chance to get out of lab life for a while now. This was a rather _extreme_ opportunity, but an opportunity was an opportunity, and he was going to take it.

Plus, if things ended up going his way, he might be able to sleep a little easier in the future.

"I can't say I have, Gary, I'm sorry," Professor Oak apologized. Gary knew his grandfather was less keen about letting him loose, but he hadn't tried to convince him one way or the other. He was worried, as was every other parent or sibling or friend.

Tracey looked up from where he was working. Gary had no idea whether Tracey was actually going yet, or not. The artist had packed a few things here and there, but overall seemed very hesitant—and the reason why was sitting right across from him at the table at which he was situated. Daisy was still hanging around, and she was definitely a factor in Tracey's apparent indecision.

"Where was the last time you remember having it?" Tracey asked politely.

"That's the problem," Gary replied, "I can't remember. It's been a couple of years since I last needed it. I haven't actually traveled in a long while."

There was a couple of loud knocks at the front door, which garnered the full attention of the group of four.

"I'll get it," Gary grumbled, thinking that maybe it was one of the Champions with some new crisis that simply had to be shared. He was surprised to find that rather than Wallace or Lance, there stood Ash and Misty at the door.

"Well, if it isn't Ashy-boy and his not-girlfriend," Gary greeted condescendingly. "Come in." Ash, being the unbelievably oblivious person he was, grinned and thanked Gary as he stepped inside. Misty, on the other hand, shot the researcher a warning glare, of which Gary was receptive, but he paid little attention to it.

"So, what brings you here this... _fine_ Christmas morning?" Gary asked ironically.

"We want to pick out our six Pokémon to bring with us on the journey," Misty replied, ignoring his sarcasm.

"Hm," Gary intoned. "A surprisingly good idea. All right, they're all out back."

"Your backyard is huge," Misty protested.

"So?"

"Aren't you going to help us?"

"No, I've got _stuff_ to do," Gary replied haughtily. "You know, things to pack, trainer belts to find..." Ash blinked.

"So, you're coming?" he asked curiously.

"Dur," Gary answered, rolling his eyes. "I have unfinished business with Giovanni." Ash and Misty both appeared caught off-guard, though they knew he was referring to his battle in Viridian City several years ago.

"Gary, you know we're not actually _looking_ for Giovanni," Misty reminded. "We're trying to hide from him. That's the point of us 'dying,' so that we can disappear off of Team Rocket's radar. If you want to face off with Giovanni, you should probably be at Lance's feet, begging him to let you join the G-Men."

"Yeah, no," Gary replied curtly, shaking his head. "Let's get real; the G-Men are never gonna find Giovanni. They couldn't do it before, and they're not gonna be able to do it now. Not saying they aren't smart people or fantastic trainers, but they _cannot_ get themselves together. Cynthia and Lance obviously don't like each other; Wallace is still new and doesn't know what he's doing; Steven, who actually _does_ know what he's doing, _won't_ do anything because he's not Champion anymore; and they all seem to think Alder is an idiot. Come on, Misty, don't tell me you haven't thought the same thing."

Misty hesitated at that, but she said nothing.

Gary finished coolly, "Ultimately, I figure my best chances of ever meeting up with Giovanni is if I'm with _him_." He pointed to Ash, who blinked in surprise, as he said this.

"Me?" Ash inquired. Gary nodded.

"Without you around, we'd know just as much about the situation when the Cerulean Gym first caught on fire," he declared. "I'm sure Lance and the others would have eventually figured it out—when it was too late." Neither Misty nor Ash said anything. What could they say? They both knew there was, unfortunately, a shred of truth to his words.

"Anyway, I'm going to go finish packing," Gary continued, changing the subject. "I'll see you two tonight." He pivoted on his heel and disappeared up the nearby staircase. His exit, however, was met with the entrance of Tracey.

"Hey, Tracey, what's up?" Misty greeted with a wave. Tracey smiled crookedly.

"Nothing much... just been packing..." His voice trailed off, and Misty and Ash exchanged furtive glances. He continued, "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I overheard you were looking to pick up some Pokémon."

"That's right," Ash affirmed.

"Well, I can give you a hand," Tracey offered.

"Hey, that'd be great! Thanks." Ash grinned.

"It's not a problem," Tracey said, shaking his head, "but, Misty... your sister was looking to talk to you." Misty's head perked up in surprise? Daisy? Wanting to talk to her? She knew it probably had something to do with the impending trip, but Misty had been under the impression Daisy would not have cared whether she went or not. She (along with the rest of her sisters) certainly hadn't cared too much in the past—they hardly offered her so little as a 'goodbye' when she first set off on the journey in which she would cross paths with Ash Ketchum. What was so different about it now?

"Um... all right," Misty gave in.

"Which Pokémon do you want, Mist'?" Ash asked earnestly. "We'll find 'em for you."

"Well..." Misty had to think about that one for a moment. "Gyarados, definitely. Staryu, Starmie, Politoed, Corsola and... oh, why not, Psyduck, too." Ash repeated them all to himself before nodding to her. They parted ways and Misty headed into the lab, where Daisy and Professor Oak were. Seeing the two Waterflower sisters, Professor Oak shuffled his papers and set them neatly down on his desk before leaving the room.

"Hi." Misty sounded unsure of herself as she slid into the seat beside Daisy.

"Hey, little sis'," Daisy replied, forcing a smile. "So... I guess you're heading off with Ash, huh..." Misty nodded.

Daisy continued, "Well, good luck then." Misty blinked. Was that it? Was that _seriously_ it? 'Good luck'? Misty supposed she wasn't expecting much to come out of this conversation, but she had hoped for a little more than that.

"Uh... Daisy, are you OK?" Misty asked with an edge in her voice. What happened next sent the redhead reeling: Daisy completely broke down into tears.

"No," the blonde sniffled, her voice cracking. "I'm not." Misty had no idea how to react, and her eyes widened. It wasn't that she hadn't seen her older sister cry before—she had, such as the time she had a painful break in her nail, or when her ex-boyfriend got a new girlfriend—but Daisy had never appeared so vulnerable as she did then.

"What's the matter?" Misty asked tepidly.

"What's the _matter_?" Daisy repeated. "My baby sister is heading off into the Indigo wilderness because some crazy Pokémon and evil organization is after her, and I don't know when I'll see her again, if ever!"

"You'll see me again," Misty reassured her, but Daisy seemed to ignore her.

"What's worse is that Tracey is probably going to go, too," she went on. "I can't bear the thought of losing him. I love him so much!" Misty breathed out in shock. She had previously thought he was another boy-toy to Daisy (which, of course, irritated Misty to no end; had she dreaded the day her older sister would get bored and break his heart), but that theory didn't hold true anymore.

"Daisy..." Misty couldn't find anything else to say. Daisy daintily wiped her eyes, though she still ended up smearing her mascara.

"I know we haven't gotten along very well in the past," she said, her voice still watery around the edges, "but won't you please stay? I don't want to have to tell Lily and Violet that you've died. I know you haven't gotten along well with them either, but they'll be upset, trust me!" Something tugged at the end of Misty's heartstrings, and for a brief moment, she was tempted to agree. The feeling passed almost as quickly as it came, however.

"No, I'm sorry..." Misty refused gently. "... I can't do that."

"Why not?"

Misty tried to offer her a reassuring smile as she said, "You love Tracey, right?" Daisy nodded.

"So that means you would do anything for him, right?" Misty continued.

"Yes," Daisy confirmed. Misty inhaled deeply, mentally pushing down the Butterfrees in her stomach.

"... Well, I would do anything for Ash, too," the redhead said firmly. "I know this will be hard for you and for Lily and Violet, but I've already made up my mind, and you can't change it. I have to go with him."

Daisy's bottom lip trembled, but after a long moment, she said, "I understand." She then pulled her younger sister into a tight embrace, which, though it made Misty feel a little uneasy, was reciprocated. Ash and Tracey arrived almost immediately after the two pulled away from each other.

"Hey, Misty, I got your Pokémon for you," the boy announced as he approached the water trainer. Misty smiled and thanked him as he handed her the six Pokéballs.

"Did you pick out your six, also?" she asked shortly afterward.

"Yup!" Ash said, nodding. "I've got Pikachu, of course—" He gestured to the yellow rodent on his shoulder as he said this. "—but I also picked up Infernape, Bayleef, Noctowl, Palpitoad, and Glalie."

Daisy suddenly cleared her throat, and they all turned their attention to her.

"Well, be safe on your journey," she said, working to keep herself held together. "Maybe next year we can have a better Christmas." Misty's breath hitched in her throat.

"Right..." she agreed tentatively.

"And Ash?" Daisy continued. Ash's head perked up. "... You're a very lucky guy. Take care of my sister." Ash looked a little befuddled by her determination that he was 'lucky,' but he agreed. He then, along with Misty and Tracey, headed back out into the front room.

"I'll catch up with you guys later," Tracey insisted once they were near the door, "but I have to finish packing, first."

"No, don't." Both Tracey and Ash looked at Misty in surprise.

"Wha... Why, Misty?" Tracey asked. Misty sighed.

"Look, I need you to do me a favor: Stay here with Daisy. You'll both be happier that way," the redhead said, folding her arms. Tracey appeared struck, but he didn't say anything. Ash watched Misty curiously, confused as to why she was requesting this.

"But-" Tracey began after he found his speech again, but Misty cut him off.

"-No buts," she persisted. "Come on, you know you wanna be with her. Ash and I will be fine. There are other people who will be with us."

"Yeah, don't worry about it, Tracey," Ash added, though he still didn't have the slightest clue what was going on. Tracey hesitated.

"Well... OK," he finally agreed. Misty smiled.

"Good," she said. "But, now that you're staying here, you have to promise me something."

"Sure," Tracey said.

"You have to take my sister on an honest-to-Arceus real date and ask her to be your girlfriend." Misty winked. "That is my _dying wish_!"

* * *

"Come on! You can do it!" Iris encouraged as she swung her leg over the tree branch on which she was situated. "Don't be such a kid. It's easy!" Cilan, however, looked very unconvinced. He and Iris were outside near the Ketchum house, hanging by one of the few trees in the flatland that was Pallet Town.

"I'm not so sure, Iris. I'm not as athletic as you are," Cilan hesitated. "And, anyway, I'm afraid I just don't see how this is going to help me."

"It will! Trust me," Iris persisted.

"What if my suit becomes dirty or accidentally gets torn? A Pokémon Connoisseur is-"

"-supposed to look clean and presentable at all time. I know," Iris sighed. "Really, Cilan, who's going to judge you here? It's just you and me."

"Yew yew!" Axew popped out of Iris's hair to also offer his words of encouragement. Cilan suddenly looked a little more confident, though still uneasy.

"Well, OK," he finally agreed. He rubbed his hands together before grabbing onto a rough piece of bark on the trunk of the tree, hoisting himself up. Iris grinned and giggled when he nearly slipped and tumbled to the ground. Not in a spiteful manner, of course. It was just that Cilan seemed to have a lot of different talents and passions and natural abilities—she honestly wouldn't have been surprised if he had declared he was a 'Tree-Climbing Connoisseur' several minutes ago when she first told him to come out here—so it was funny to see him actually struggle with something.

Once he was close enough, Iris reached out and grabbed ahold of his arm, helping him to pull himself up the rest of the way. Cilan was honestly surprised. She was strong for someone who was so little. The connoisseur then spent a moment trying to find his balance before awkwardly situating himself beside the Dragon-type trainer.

"See? That wasn't so bad," Iris said. Cilan smiled weakly and wiped a bit of perspiration from his forehead.

"How did you become so good at this?" he asked. "I would be willing to bet you might even be able to beat Pansage in a tree-climbing contest."

Iris laughed.

"Well, I guess we will have to try that some day," she said. Silence fell, and Cilan cast his gaze down to his feet hanging off the tree. Iris watched him carefully, knowing exactly what was bothering him.

"Cilan... your brothers..." she began tentatively.

"The thought of leading them to think I'm dead makes me ill," he said suddenly. He turned his head toward her, his eyes pleading. "So, what should I do?"

"I don't know... just..." Iris closed her eyes, and inhaled the cool breeze deeply. "...enjoy this. Let go of anything that's worrying you right now, and watch the sunset. Let nature tell you what you should do." Cilan blinked and looked out toward the sky. She was right. The sun was, indeed, setting. Where had the day gone? In just several short hours, they would be on the very bus that would supposedly kill them.

"It is quite beautiful," Cilan mused aloud. "Like a marigold in full bloom..."

Iris tilted her head toward him, examining the features on his face. She'd only seen him like this a handful of times in the several months they'd known each other. He was usually so incredibly upbeat, with an active imagination that more often than not got away with him. It was rare to see him this wistful and solemn.

"Cilan... ?" she questioned.

"I love my brothers dearly, Iris," he began firmly, "but at the same time, Ash is a wonderful friend and... a very unique person."

Iris couldn't resist asking, "Do you think what the others have been saying is true, then? That Ash is the Chosen One?"

"I don't know, yet. I'm skeptical such a figure exists," he replied. Iris knew she should have seen that one coming: Cilan was scientifically minded. He typically didn't believe in spirits or legends or magic or prophecies of any sort.

"Well, I guess I don't know either," Iris confessed. "But, I don't think it's impossible. He might be a little kid and all, but there's just something about him. It's like you said, he's a very unique person." Cilan lowered his eyes, thinking.

"I need to go," he said quietly.

"Mm?" Iris looked confused.

"I think I decided long ago that I was going," Cilan went on, "I'm just... having trouble accepting that decision. Does that make sense?"

"A little," Iris admitted. "But, remember, this isn't going to be a permanent thing. Your brothers will see you again. Ultimately, this is about your safety. Our safety." Cilan pressed his lips together.

"I would have never guessed the day Ash showed up in the Striaton City Gym that I would eventually wind up here," he remarked.

"Yeah, well," Iris added, resting her chin on the palm of her hand, "I don't think _anyone_ would have guessed they'd end up here the day they met Ash."

"Hey!" The call below surprised the two Unovan trainers, and Cilan, who didn't have a very good grip on the branch to begin with, lost his balance and fell. He hit the ground on his back with a loud thud. Iris, along with Zoey and Dawn, who had been the ones to call out to them, looked horrified.

"Mew, Cilan, are you all right?" Zoey asked as she hurried to help them up, with Dawn limping behind her.

"Yes, yes, thank you, Zoey," Cilan insisted with a nervous laugh. His cheeks were burnt with embarrassment. "I'm just clumsy, I suppose."

"We're sorry, we didn't mean to surprise you like that!" Dawn exclaimed as she bent down and helped him to his feet.

"Oh, that's quite all right," Cilan said as he turned over his shoulder and brushed the dirt and stray blades of grass off his backside. "There's no need for you to apologize. It's entirely my own doing."

"We're lucky that wasn't a very tall tree," Iris remarked as she jumped down, making a far more graceful landing. "You could have been seriously hurt!"

"What were you two doing up there, anyway?" Zoey asked curiously.

"Nothing much," Iris said, waving her hand dismissively as she smiled, "just watching the sunset and talking..." Zoey and Dawn exchanged furtive glances, and the latter got a rather mischievous look in her blue eyes.

"We weren't interrupting anything, were we?" the blunette asked slyly.

"Eh?" Iris suddenly went rather red in the face. "N-No you misinterpreted what I said! It wasn't anything like _that_."

"Yes," Cilan agreed, nodding. Although his voice was even, his cheeks had also flushed pink. "Iris and I are just good friends, that's all."

"Chill out, you two. Dawn was just pulling your leg," Zoey said, though she was smirking. "Anyway, we came over here to tell you that Leaf was saying the bus should be here after dinner, at which time we'll leave. So if you were planning to go and you haven't packed yet..." Cilan folded his arms, realizing this message was intended for him.

"Well, I suppose I should get a move-on then," he said. He started back down the dirt path back to Ketchum residence and Iris, Zoey, and Dawn followed.

"So, I guess that means you've decided to come?" Dawn asked once she had caught up to the connoisseur. He nodded.

"What about you guys?" Iris asked.

"I'm going," Dawn said resolutely. "My mom's here, so I don't have anything holding me back. Well, except maybe my ankle..."

"Of course, Kenny's promised _to carry her_ if walking starts hurting too much," Zoey added teasingly. Dawn rolled her eyes and let out an awkward sort of laugh. Barry's announcement that he was going had set off a sort of chain reaction among her friends: Once he was going, Kenny of course felt like he had to go, too, since they were best friends, which prompted Zoey to also (albeit, reluctantly) agree to join them.

"What about you, Zoey?" Cilan asked politely. The redhead's smile diminished, though only just a little.

"Yes, I've decided to go," she answered plainly.

"What about your friend, Candice?" Iris asked. Zoey's eyes fell. Dawn cast the Dragon-type trainer a wary glance, and Iris realized she probably shouldn't have brought it up.

"Honestly, I'm trying not to think about it," the redhead replied. Her voice was laced with threads of sadness.

"I'm sorry," Iris sincerely apologized. Zoey waved it off.

"It's cool," she said. Her pace slowed until she came to a complete stop, looking at the small home ahead of her. The others stopped, too, to watch her. Zoey continued, "It's just, I really hope they end up tracking down Giovanni soon if we go through with this."

Iris, Cilan, and Dawn looked on with somber expressions, but said nothing; a silent agreement.

.

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	10. IX: In Which Gary Foresees the Future

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Chapter IX: In Which Gary Foresees the Future

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_**December 25th, 2001. Evening. Pallet Tow**__**n.**_

Dinner had passed by quietly and uneventfully. The food and conversation were hardly enjoyed since mostly everyone was anxious about the impending arrival of the bus, which meant the inevitable departure of the fourteen teens. Not that Paul cared much. Honestly, the faster they got out of here, the better. He was fed up with being cooped up inside for the past several days and was admittedly looking forward to hitting the road again._  
_

The mauve-haired trainer was alone in Ash's room. Not for any particular reason, other than he wanted just that: to be alone. The more he thought about traveling with the others, the less he looked forward to this little adventure. He'd already been putting up with everyone for the past week, and he balked at the thought of having to be with them longer.

Ash's room was exactly how Paul would have expected it look like. Although he had been spending the last couple of nights sleeping in there, he hadn't really taken a moment to examine his surroundings. One thing that caught his attention in particular was a promotional poster for the 1996 Indigo League plastered on the wall. That was Paul's first league competition. It occurred to him that Ash may have watched him participate. He might have asked if he cared enough to know.

On Ash's dresser was one of the two soothe bells they had won at the Hearthome Tag Battle Competition. Paul couldn't help but wonder if Ash had packed the other or if he had simply thrown it away because he had no need for two.

"Hey."

Paul heaved his shoulders.

"What do you want?" the teen asked harshly as he turned toward his older brother. "I already told you, you can't change my mind about going."

"All I said was 'hey,'" Reggie reminded, forcing down a chuckle. "Although, I have to admit, I am curious as to why you're so dead-set on leaving." Paul lowered his defenses a bit, though he remained wary as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket and looked away.

"Tch. That Trip kid put it best: A huge crime organization and their legendary clone want our heads. Whether or not someone should go is obvious." He paused before adding, "Besides, you and I both saw Mewtwo's power for ourselves. If that was just a fraction of what he's capable of, then I'm not interested in a second run-in. It was hard enough chasing him off the first time."

"I understand." Reggie nodded, though he looked skeptical.

Noticing his brother's unsure tone, Paul growled, "What?"

"Nothing." Reggie shrugged. "I'm just wondering how you're going to handle having traveling companions. Especially so many of them. You're not exactly a people person. Still, it _does_ give me comfort knowing you'll be with Ash and the others."

"Why?"

"There's strength in numbers."

"Not when they're a bunch of idiots."

"Don't underestimate the power of idiots in large groups," Reggie humored. Paul rolled his eyes, but he said nothing.

Reggie continued after a moment of prolonged silence, "You know, I'm only trying to look out for your best interests. I always have been, especially with the way Dad..." His voice trailed off, and Paul's expression turned somber.

"Yeah..." Paul pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Well, don't worry about me. I'll run with the pack. I'll be a good 'team player,' or whatever it's called. Just... promise me one thing while I'm gone."

Reggie raised his eyebrows.

"What do you need?" he asked amicably.

Paul clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth before saying, "Hold off on your wedding until I get back. I want to be there."

At first, Reggie appeared a little caught off-guard. Then, he grinned.

"You got it," he laughed. "Although, Maylene does have to say 'yes', first."

Paul scoffed.

"Of course she'll say yes. She'd be a fool if she didn't."

* * *

"What'cha reading?"

Leaf blinked and looked over the top of her book to see that Ash had seated himself on the dining chair beside her. His head was tilted slightly to the left, and he was leaning toward her earnestly, as if he honestly cared to know what had her occupied. Leaf noted that it was a rare instance that, for once, Pikachu wasn't with him.

"Charles Dickens's 'A Christmas Carol,'" she answered plainly. "My parents used to read this to me every Christmas. It was sort of a tradition."

"Huh," he mused. Leaf raised an eyebrow.

"What? Don't you and your mom have Christmas traditions?" she asked, her tone threaded with annoyance. She wasn't exactly in the mood for socialization. Ash, however, didn't seem to pick up on her irritation.

"Of course we do," he nodded. "We just haven't really had the chance to, you know, honor them this year."

Ash's statement, though he had no intention of it doing so, stung. Leaf averted her gaze, the edge of her lips twitching slightly.

"Right..." Her voice trailed off. "Well, Ash, I..." Leaf paused for a moment, apparently gathering herself. "I promise you'll be back here by next Christmas."

Ash blinked, both confused and surprised by Leaf's sudden melancholy. Nevertheless, he nodded and held up his hand with his pinkie finger outstretched. Now it was Leaf's turn to look confused.

"Seriously? Are you in Kindergarten?" she asked when she finally understood what he was doing.

"Hey!" Ash pouted. "Don't you remember? You were the one who said that a promise isn't a real promise unless it's a pinkie promise."

"Yeah, when we were kids," Leaf scoffed. "You're almost 15 now!"

"Then I guess it's not a real promise."

"Arceus," Leaf swore, shaking her head. Yet, a smile sill managed to work its way onto her face. "All right, pinkie promise then."

Leaf laughed, half-nervous and half-embarrassed, and she and Ash's fingers entwined, sealing the deal. It then just so happened that at that moment, Gary walked through the doorway, his traveling backpack slung over her shoulder.

"Wow," he sighed, observing the scene. "Just wow..."

"Hey, do _not_ mock the sacredness of the pinkie promise, Garebear," Leaf retorted. Ash turned his head to look at the girl in befuddlement; less than 30 seconds ago, she was giving him grief about the gesture, and now she had made a complete 180-degree turn on the matter with Gary.

"Ah, I remember that nickname," Gary said coolly. "It's been awhile since we've heard that one, right Ashy-boy?"

"Uh..." Ash was at a loss for words. He was in the middle of a flashback to when they were all children, when Gary and Leaf were constantly sniping at each other over the most insignificant things. He hadn't been able to keep up with their jabs then, either.

"Yeah, you know, I never did get over the fact that you cared enough to give Ash a demeaning nickname, but never made up one for me," Leaf commented.

"That's because you never needed one." Gary shrugged. "Your name is Leaf. It can't get any more ridiculous than that."

"Did you just come here to insult me?" Leaf rolled her eyes. "If that's so, then you can leave."

"No, actually," Gary's eyes flicked over to the boy beside her. "Ash, your mom is looking for you."

"Huh? My mom?" Ash inquired as he rose to his feet.

"Yup."

"All right, then. See you around, Leaf." Ash waved to her as he exited the room. Once he was gone, Gary turned his attention back to the young G-Men agent.

"So, next Christmas, huh?" he asked. "That's a big promise, even for someone as self-important as you."

"What do you want from me, Gary?" Leaf exhaled wearily.

"Well, believe it or not, I'm just looking out for Ash," Gary replied, setting his backpack on the ground as he sat in the chair Ash had previously occupied. "He's like a sad, abandoned little Lillipup, and what can you do but try to take care of a sad, abandoned little Lillipup?"

"Oh, come off it; we both know this isn't about Ash." Leaf shook her head. "Look, I know you. You want something out of this, otherwise you wouldn't be going. Is it Giovanni? Are you looking for payback?"

"Huh, you're more perceptive than I thought," Gary said, amused.

"How twisted does your mind have to be to believe that going underground to _avoid_ Giovanni is going to help you find him? How does that work? Please, help me unravel the mystery that is Gary Oak." Irritation was seeping back into Leaf's voice.

"Because I've thought ahead."

"Oh?"

He nodded.

"I've figured out how this whole journey is going to go down."

"Do tell." Leaf folded her arms and leaned back into her chair. She had to admit, she was a tad bit interested in what Gary had to say about this.

"First thing's first," Gary interjected, "I need you to answer me one question."

Leaf shrugged.

"Fire away."

Gary's lips curled upward into a smirk.

"Are you going to be the one who's guiding us to Dragon's Den?"

If Leaf was surprised by this question, she didn't let it show.

"Do you think I am?" she taunted.

"Don't play games with me, Leaf."

"Well, do you?"

Gary looked a little wary now. After a moment's reflection though, he regained his confidence.

"I do, actually," he declared.

"Why?"

"Simple deductive reasoning, really," he replied. "None of the Champions can be the ones to take us there. They're public figures. They need to be around to handle the media circus that will surely explode after tonight. Besides, it would be very suspicious to many different people—Giovanni included—if one of them was mysteriously missing for a little bit. That leaves you to be the one G-Men agent to guide us on the _treacherous_ journey to Johto." That last bit was tinged with obvious sarcasm.

"There are hundreds of other G-Men agents," Leaf pointed out.

"Yes, hundreds of other, _better trained_ agents, but the only one Lance has kept around for this adventure is you," Gary countered. "You're obviously his favorite. Why it's that way is beyond me. Maybe he sees himself in you or some sort of Freudian thing like that. Whatever the case, he puts up with you. So, he's handpicked you to be the one to take Ash and the rest of us to Dragon's Den, despite the risks."

"Risks?" Leaf laughed.

"Oh yes, there are a lot of risks entrusting you with this task." Gary sounded downright smug at this point. "I mean, aside from the fact that you're 15 and therefore as much of a volatile hormonal teenager as the rest of us, working under Lance all these years has cultivated your egotism."

"Gary, you do not have room to speak about ego," Leaf cut in.

"Let me finish," Gary continued, unfazed. "You act like you know what you're doing and, yeah, maybe to a certain extent you do. But I think you'll find that most rational adults would not be so keen on letting you lead this journey, and that's why Lance and the others have been so vague about the identity of the guide. The only reason Lance is able to get the rest of the Champions on board is because none of 'em, except Cynthia, are really willing to stand up to him."

"While this is clever and all, I still don't see how any of this means you're going to get the chance to meet up with Giovanni," Leaf said. "Assuming I was your guide, what makes you think I would disobey Lance and go on a massive manhunt for Giovanni when that's what those hundreds of other G-Men agents are going to be doing?"

"I was just getting to that." Gary smirked. "You see, you think Ash really is the Chosen One."

"Still don't see how that would change things," Leaf droned.

"_Because_," Gary emphasized, "despite your strong loyalty to Lance, you will listen to just about anything Ash says. He says, 'Jump,' you say, 'How high?' After all, you were the one who pushed Ash to record his dreams because you truly thought they could have significance in cracking this case."

For a split second, Gary swore he saw a break in Leaf's poker face, but she quickly recovered, and her expression returned to its stoic state.

"Now, this is the part where I did all that forward-thinking." Gary tapped the temple on the left side of his face as he said this. "I, for one, am not sure if I believe Ashy-boy is the Chosen One or not, but I do think he does have some sort of connection with Mewtwo and that Mewtwo has been sending him messages while he sleeps. Why? No clue. It's not my concern. Anyway, I'm nearly positive that at some point on this little journey, Ash is gonna have another ground-breaking dream that's gonna change everything, and with _you_ being our guide, _you're_ going to listen and _you're_ going to be the one who leads us straight to Giovanni as Ash keeps spewing out his little visions."

Leaf breathed out, finally sounding a little shaken, and Gary smirked once again, looking quite pleased with himself.

"Leaf."

The girl practically jumped when Lance called her name from the doorway. She immediately stood up.

"What is it?" she asked.

"The bus is here," he answered shortly. "Come speak with me." It was more of an order than a suggestion.

"Right." She followed him out, but just before she disappeared from Gary's line of sight, she turned her head and cast him one last curious glance.

He was still smirking.

* * *

"Hey."

Drew lifted his arm off his face to see May hovering over him. His head was propped up against a throw pillow, and he was situated on a sofa in the living room. His arm dropped down once again.

"Shouldn't you be with your family?" he grumbled.

"I was, but I started thinking about you." She then quickly amended, "Um, not in that way, though. I was just worried 'cause you've been keeping to yourself ever since we've gotten here. I mean, you always to keep to yourself, but... um... I don't know, I guess I was just worried. Don't take that the wrong way though!"

Drew cracked a smile and he sat up.

"All right, stop rambling," he said. May clamped her mouth shut and nodded.

"Believe it or not, May, some people enjoy a little solitude," Drew continued, "unlike you, who needs someone to talk at 24/7." May huffed.

"I do _not_ need to talk 24/7!" she denied. "And excuse me for trying to be nice! It just makes me sad to see someone by themselves on Christmas. That's why I wanted you to come with me to Petalburg in the first place, so you wouldn't be alone in Johto."

"Yeah, well," Drew interjected, "You'll have plenty of time to make it up to me after tonight. You and I are going to be stuck together for a while."

May's expression suddenly brightened. The lines of frustration creased in her forehead vanished, as if they were never there at all.

"So, you _are_ coming?"

"Yup," he replied, flicking his hair. "Didn't Max tell you?"

"Oh, he did, I just wanted to hear it from you." May sat beside him on the couch, pulling her legs up underneath her chin. "You're kind of hard to figure out sometimes."

Before Drew had a chance to digest and respond to May's statement, the rest of her family appeared—presumably to retrieve their daughter, or sister, and spend a last few fleeting moments with her—and Drew swept up his bag, prepared to carry it out.

"Lance said the bus is here," Drew heard Max inform his sister as he plopped down next to her in the spot which the male coordinator previously occupied. Just as Drew was heading out however, Caroline turned and called to him:

"Oh, please Drew, don't feel the need to leave just because we're here," she said kindly. Drew stopped.

"That's OK, Caroline," he assured her. "This should be a private family goodbye."

"Except, I'm not saying 'goodbye,'" May chimed in. This seemed to grab Drew's attention and he turned his head to look over his shoulder and watch his female rival as she rose to her feet. Her parents and Max seemed equally surprised.

"'Goodbye' makes it sound like we're never going to see each other again. But we _are_ going to see each other again," May insisted. "It's just as if I were returning to Johto to continue my journey. I may be away for now, but I'll be back home again someday. To be honest, aside from the whole overly dramatic 'dying' part of this, I don't see what the huge deal is. It's just another adventure. At least, for me it is."

"That's my girl." Norman grinned, patting his daughter on the back. There was a slight waver in his firm voice. May smiled crookedly and tackled him with a hug.

"I'll be home soon, Daddy," she promised, "and Mom, and Max." She embraced them tightly as well. Drew frowned and turned his head away.

May accepted her backpack from Max and joined Drew at his side. She attempted another smile, though this was one was far more forced than the one before. Drew lowered his eyelids, unresponsive as he kept walking, this time with May in tow. Yet, he was stopped again.

"Drew," Norman called out. Both of the young rivals turned to face the gym leader.

"Keep an eye on her," Norman continued. "You know how she is." May looked at her father disbelievingly, too stunned to become annoyed. Drew couldn't help but let out a small chuckle before he cleared his throat.

"Of course," he replied.

* * *

"You know, it actually is a very nice bus," Leaf commented aloud as she leaned against the white picket fence outside the Ketchum residence, watching as several of her peers had begun loading onto the large vehicle. Lance was standing upright beside her, his gaze focused straight ahead.

"It's a shame we have to destroy it," the young agent finished casually. Lance's eyes then flicked over to her.

"Speaking of which," he began sternly, "please don't go overboard when it comes time for leaving the bus behind."

"Oh, don't worry about _that_," she assured him with a wave of her hand. Then, as if on cue, a tall, thin dark male exited the bus and approached the young agent and her mentor.

"Everything is in order, sir," he said, addressing Lance.

"Good," the Champion nodded. "Leaf, I'd like you to meet Agent Adalet. He will be the one driving you into the Viridian Forest."

"Oh, Agent Adalet, huh?" Leaf reached over the fence to shake the older man's hand. "Weird last name. What is it? French?" Adalet's lips tightened.

"Turkish. We should be ready to leave in five or so minutes," he said tersely before turning on his heel and heading in the other direction, ignoring her outstretched hand. Leaf appeared both confused and offended by her fellow agent's dismissal of her. Lance eyed Adalet as he left.

"What's his deal?" Leaf bristled.

"He's upset," Lance explained shortly. "He has no right to be, though."

"Upset over what?" Leaf asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"It's none of your concern," Lance replied, purposely dodging her question.

"I think it is, since he completely dissed me, and you didn't even do anything about it," Leaf pressed. Lance paused, and he seemed to hesitate.

"You're young. I know that, and Adalet knows that," he said, carefully choosing his words. "However, Adalet does not understand how this organization works. I wanted you at the helm on this journey for a very specific reason." Leaf raised an eyebrow.

"That is... ?"

Lance was silent for a long moment, apparently pondering how to answer that question.

"I'll tell you after you successfully bring the group to Dragon's Den," he finally said. "I just have to know that I can trust you."

"Trust me? You already said you trusted me," Leaf said. "You were the one who wanted me to escort Brock from Pewter Town to here."

"Yes, and you disrespectfully declined as you were on a boat going in the opposite direction," Lance pointed out simply. Leaf was about to protest that the trip had provided them essential information about the Shamouti prophecy, but she backed down. She hadn't known Lance was still upset over the incident, though she supposed she have known better. She knew she walked a fine line with Lance. Sometimes he was OK with her deviation; sometimes he _wasn't_. She figured now was one of those times.

"This seems to be a sensitive issue. Do I have any reason to distrust you?" Lance posed the question calmly, though firmly.

Out of the corner of her eye, Leaf saw Gary heave his backpack onto his shoulders as he climbed the steps into the bus.

"No, no; of course not," she insisted. "They'll be to Dragon's Den, safe and sound."

"Good." Lance moved his gaze away from hers. "You should go." Leaf frowned and looked to Delia and Ash, who now had Pikachu back with him, standing several feet away from them. Delia gave her son one last tight hug, and he said something reassuring and grinned. Pikachu also seemed to offer some words of encouragement to the mother before his trainer turned and followed Gary's lead.

"Right," she replied flatly, snatching her bag up off the ground and jumping the fence. She stopped on the first step up the bus before looking over her shoulder at the Indigo Champion. He offered a small wave of his hand, but that was it. Leaf supposed she shouldn't have expected much. Lance was not a sentimental person; neither was she.

Leaf could feel Agent Adalet's eyes following her in the rearview mirror as she entered the bus and sat down, alone, in the front seat.

"You know," Leaf heard Cilan say thoughtfully from a couple of seats behind her, "they never did say who our guide was."

"Shouldn't it be obvious?" Gary spoke up from across the aisle. Leaf shot a tentative glance over her shoulder at the brown-haired boy. He smirked when their gazes met.

"What other reason would Leaf be here?" he finished.

* * *

"I..." Johanna was the first to speak after the adult party returned inside, the bus having left. Distraught, she pressed the palm of her hand against her forehead. "I think I need a drink. Delia ... ?" The auburn-haired woman immediately straightened up upon hearing her name called.

"Oh! Um, I'm sure I have something in the wine cabinet," she said before scampering off.

"Ah, good. Let's all just get drunk," Harley mumbled sarcastically, waving his hand as he said this, "'cause that's obviously a solid coping mechanism."

Lance remained rooted to his spot. He had taken up residence on the sofa, decidedly not drinking. As the other adults emptied the living room, Cynthia waited nearby, biding her time for an opportune moment. Once they were alone, the Sinnoh Champion joined Lance at his side.

"What do you want, Cynthia?" Lance asked.

"I haven't even said a single word yet, and already, there's this tone of hostility." The blonde attempted to deliver this line in good humor, but her voice faltered, and there was a hint of bitterness on her tongue.

"I'm sorry," Lance apologized, though his sincerity was questionable. "What can I do for you?"

Cynthia paused to collect her breath.

"I just need some reassurance, I suppose," she began, turning serious. "Are you _sure_ you're making the right decision? There's still time. We can get Agent Adalet to take those children to Dragon's Den instead."

"I do not want Agent Adalet involved beyond what I've already asked of him," Lance interjected firmly. "I made that clear to him. That should be clear to you, too."

"It's not," Cynthia protested. "Why Leaf?"

"I have my reasons," Lance said dismissively.

"That's not good enough," Cynthia persisted. "It is not fair to require the trust of a 15-year-old in a matter as serious as this. No matter what reasons you may have."

"You trust Ash," Lance stated simply. "What is so different about me trusting Leaf?"

"They _are_ different, though," Cynthia deflected. "I am speaking on behalf of those parents who don't even realize that this is what we're doing. Are we just going to keep them in a state of ignorance?"

"Yes."

"Keeping them from the truth is just as bad as lying."

"If you want to deal with unhappy parents, be my guest. I don't want to get into this fight, Cynthia, but I do not understand why you're so insistent on making this more complicated than necessary."

"Because I feel like I would want to know everything, even if it's an inconvenient truth, about my child."

"You do not have children—" Cynthia visibly shifted as Lance made this statement. "—How could you possibly know? The others are in there getting drunk because they can hardly deal with the sub-reality. Does knowing the reality make that better? I think it makes it worse."

"You don't have children either," Cynthia pointed out.

"I have someone who comes close."

"Do they _really_, though?" Cynthia questioned. "Steven won't tell me much about it, but he thinks-"

"-That's enough," Lance cut her off. "I respect Steven as a trainer and former colleague, but I am not interested in hearing his opinion on Leaf and myself. He and I came to an agreement over this years ago, and it's in your best interest that you let it be that way."

It was at this point that Steven himself re-entered the room and noticed the two in contempt of one another.

"Cyndi, would you like me to pour you a glass of wine?" the former Hoenn Champion asked politely, attempting to break the tension.

"No... no alcohol please," she refused, turning and offering her spouse a weary smile. Everything suddenly clicked in Lance's mind, and he looked at Cynthia in surprise.

"Ah, I see," Steven said before extending his arm to her. "Let's get some rest then. You were the one to say we wouldn't be able to enjoy the privilege of sleep much longer."

**December 25th, 2001. Late Evening. Somewhere in the Viridian Forest.**

The unpaved road through the forest had grown especially bumpy and unpredictable, causing Agent Adalet to slow the speed of the bus down to 15 or 20 mph. Leaf had a detailed map of the Viridian Forest sprawled across her lap, as well as couple of Kanto and Johto maps nearby if she needed to reference them. The whole of the bus was dark so most everyone else could try to get a wink of sleep, but Leaf had her own personal light to help her study the maps and plan an effective route that would keep the group as far away from cities and towns.

"So, are you really gonna be our guide?" a rather loud voice suddenly asked from behind the young agent.

Leaf nearly jumped.

"Arceus, Barry, you scared me!" She turned and gave the blonde a glare. Barry furrowed his eyebrows together and pushed his bottom lip forward, pouting.

"Hey, just curious," he defended. "What are you gonna do, fine me?"

"Yes, I'm your guide," Leaf answered shortly. "Now, why don't you go bother Kenny? He's like your best friend, isn't he?"

"He's asleep."

"And I'm busy," Leaf snapped. "Why don't you try to sleep, too? We're going to be traveling until daylight, and I don't want to hear complaints on how tired you are."

"All right, all right, sheesh, _Mom._" Barry rolled his eyes before slipping back into the darkness. Not long after, there were sounds of stumbling feet and a couple of annoyed groans. It seemed Barry had tripped over something and accidentally hit someone.

The rest of the ride proceeded relatively silent. Leaf folded up her maps and stuffed them back into her bag before turning her head and keeping a watchful eye on the road from her window; however, her eyes soon began to flutter closed, as sleepiness edged its way in. She was only knocked out of her drowsy state when the bus came to an abrupt stop. Leaf rose to her feet.

"What's going on?" Leaf asked Agent Adalet, approaching him at the front. "Why did we stop?"

He raised a questioning eyebrow at her.

"Because this is where you're getting off."

"Oh... Oh!" Leaf snapped her head up. "OK then." She then quickly exited the bus to better check out their surroundings. They were pulled off to the side of the road—right at the edge of a cliff. Leaf let on a satisfied smile; she had to admit, Adalet had picked a good place. She approached the cliff's edge and tentatively peeked over it. It was quite the fall, and she immediately backed off. She then reached into her bag and relocated her map of the Viridian Forest and a small flashlight.

"Yes, good," she mumbled to herself, tracing their route with the beam of yellow light. They were far enough away from any sort of civilization that they would be able to get a fair head start before the authorities came, and the foliage in the area was thick, which meant this was a part of the forest that trainers tended to avoid.

"So, is this it?" Iris asked as she, along with the rest of the fourteen trainers and Agent Adalet came off the bus.

"Yup!" Leaf clenched the map in her hands and turned toward the Dragon-type trainer with a grin. "Is everyone off?"

"Think so..." Kenny mumbled, still half-asleep.

"Great!" Leaf then swiftly obtained a Pokéball from her belt. "Granbull, go!"

The large, purplish beast emerged from its Pokéball with a gruff roar.

"Granbull, use Take Down on that bus. Knock it over the cliff!"

"Gran-bull!" The bulldog-like Pokémon obeyed its trainer's order, taking off and ramming its head into the side the bus. The vehicle moved a few inches from the impact, and tipped slightly on its wheels, but remained upright. Granbull was hit with the recoil and skidded backward, shaking its head.

Trip then reached into his pocket and retrieved one of his own Pokémon.

"Gurdurr, help Granbull out, use Strength and try to push that bus over!" he ordered.

"You too, Mamoswine! Use Take Down!" Dawn joined in, calling out her gigantic Ice-type.

"Granbull, use Take Down one more time," Leaf added.

Trip's Gurdurr set his steel frame on the ground and, rubbing his hands together, pressed his massive hands up against the vehicle, managing to get the wheels on the side to tip once again. Granbull back himself up to align with Mamoswine and, keeping each other mind, both charged toward the bus at the same time, successfully knocking it over entirely and sending it tumbling over the edge. Several of the trainers cringed when they heard the loud crash at the bottom. Trip, Dawn, and Leaf returned their respective Pokémon into their Pokéballs.

The youth then cautiously approached the edge to see the utterly crushed remains of their ride.

"Well, I think it's safe to say none of us would have survived that," Ritchie commented. Misty seemed to nod in agreement.

"We should finish the job, though," Adalet approached from behind, his large Tyrannitar trudging next to him. "Tyrannitar, use Flamethrower on that bus. Do not to set the forest on fire, though."

Tyrannitar then unleashed a controlled blaze that, though small, easily lit the bus up. A minor explosion occurred when the flames reached the gas tank, but the surrounding foliage remained untouched. Within seconds, a thick, black cloud of smoke rose from the scene, forcing the group to back up.

"I suppose this is where we hightail it out of here before someone notices the fire, huh?" Kenny said aloud to no one in particular.

"Well, I suppose I'm done here," Adalet said plainly, calling his Tyrannitar back into its Pokéball. "My Pidgeot will assist me in going to Virdian City."

"Thank you," Leaf told him. It was an attempt at mitigate the apparent bitterness that lingered from their initial meeting.

"Good luck," Adalet answered tersely, doing the same. "I sincerely hope you are successful, for no reason other than I don't want any carelessness to cost the safety of your companions. Although, I suppose then maybe Lance would realize his personal politics shouldn't take precedence over everything else." Leaf narrowed her gaze, utterly baffled by his words, but trying to not let it show. She presumed it must have had to do with whatever he and Lance fought over earlier.

"Well then," Leaf began after clearing her throat. "We should get going."

There were a few mumbles of agreement. With a gesture of her hand, Leaf invited the other fourteen trainers to follow her into the dark forest. Meanwhile, Agent Adalet, true to his word, called out his Pidgeot and took to the night skies.

Gary cast a careful glance at Leaf as they proceeded.

_Politics._

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	11. X: In Which Zoey Breaks Down

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Chapter X: In Which Zoey Breaks Down

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_**December 26th, 2001. Early Morning. Pallet Town.**_

Morning came at a painstakingly slow pace.

Lance had not slept a minute throughout the night—and he was sure he was not the only who had faced insomnia that evening—as he silently, ponderously waited for his phone to ring. His expectation, if Adalet and Leaf had set everything up correctly, was that someone on the outskirts of Viridian City would spot a stack of smoke rising out of the forest and call the authorities. He would then be contacted by Officer Jenny, who would let him know there had been a terrible accident. Hearing the various tragedies, large or small, that fell upon the region was an unwanted, but necessary part of his responsibilities as Champion and leader of Johto and Kanto.

"Have you heard anything yet?"

Lance flicked his eyes toward Steven, unsurprised by his arrival.

"No, not yet," he answered shortly.

"Ah," Steven said a little stiffly as he furrowed his eyebrows. Lance now more fully turned his head toward the former Hoenn Champion.

"Is Cynthia awake?" he asked curtly, only now noticing her absence. Steven smiled sadly and shook his head.

"She's ill," the silver-haired man explained. "I think this whole situation has weighed heavily on her consciousness."

"Right... What about Wallace?"

"Asleep. Or trying to be."

"Alder?"

"Hungover, and mumbling something about a woman."

"Figures." Lance resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "That man has absolutely no sense of responsibility."

Steven didn't reply. He opened his mouth for a moment, perhaps to defend the Unova Champion's behavior, but closed it once again. Lance quirked an eyebrow at him and cleared his throat.

"I'd like you to make the phone calls to the other families before Cynthia hosts the press conference," he requested. Steven suddenly straightened up, surprised.

"Me?"

"Yes. Who else?"

Steven again looked like he had something to say, but he ended up swallowing all those words down his throat.

"What a terrible job to give me," he said, half-jokingly.

"I know." Lance almost sounded sympathetic. "I'm sorry."

Steven had no chance to react as the Dragon Master's PokéNav suddenly, and loudly, rattled against the glass tabletop on which it was situated. He and Lance exchanged quick glances. This was it; this was what they were waiting for. Lance swiftly snatched the device and pressed the 'OK' button.

"Hello, this is Lance speaking," the Indigo Champion said as he rose to his feet. Wallace and Cynthia, who both had a disheveled (and, in Cynthia's case, sickly) look about them, entered the room. Cynthia immediately went to her husband's side while Wallace looked on apprehensively. Lance, meanwhile, remained silent as he listened to the person on the other side of the line. He then suddenly cut in:

"I'm sorry, did you say a bus? In the Viridian forest? ... Oh, oh Arceus." His stone-faced expression ill matched the feigned—though thoroughly convincing—sound of pain that tinged his voice. "Yes, that's one of ours. Arceus. I... There were fourteen kids in there... I know, it's... Don't worry about that. We'll handle the press and investigation... I mean 'we' as in the G-Men. What was the road, you said? I'll be down there soon. Cynthia will come with me... Yes, that's Cynthia the Champion of Sinnoh... Please keep us in contact."

Lance pressed his lips into a hard line after the call ended.

"Cynthia, please get ready," he said, emotionless in both tone and expression. He refused to make eye contact with her, or any of the others. "We should arrange for a press conference as soon as Steven has contacted all the families. Wallace, when the others are awake, be sure to remind them that they are, as of now, all in mourning."

_**December 26th, 2001. Morning. Snowpoint City.**_

Candice hummed a classic Christmas carol to herself as she cheerfully trotted down the stairs and into the kitchen. She shivered as her bare feet touched the cold linoleum tile, and she decided to make herself a cup of morning coffee to warm herself up.

She had mostly spent the last couple of days laying idly around the house, terribly bored now that her gym was closed and classes at the academy were suspended for the holidays. It didn't help that she had forced herself to stay inside ever since that mass email Cynthia sent out to Sinnoh gym leaders, advising them to lay low. As a result, she hadn't done much training either.

The girl smiled though when she remembered that gym leaders weren't actually in trouble and she was free to do as she pleased, but frowned again when she also remembered that though she was off the hook, Zoey was now possibly in danger.

The thought somehow reminded her to turn on the TV, as the recent erratic attacks on trainers at the hands of this Mewtwo had gotten herself (and probably many other people across the nation) into the habit of at least checking the news station once or twice a day. Thus, as her coffee was brewing, the Ice-type gym leader bounded happily into the living room and threw herself onto the sofa. She then grabbed the remote and turned to the news station.

"_This just in: A bus crash in the middle of the Viridian Forest took the lives of at least fifteen people early this morning, according to the Officer Jenny of Virdian City_..."

Candice's face paled, and she found her hands shaking, her blood running cold with horror. The cheerful mood with which she had carried herself only seconds before shattered.

"A-Arceus!"

_**December 26th, 2001. Morning. Somewhere in the Viridian Forest.**_

Exhaustion was not an appropriate word to describe Ash's state of being when he came to that morning. The group had stopped traveling at about 6 a.m., before the sun was visible among the towering foliage and the sky had only just begun to lighten from black to blue, and set up a makeshift camp that really wasn't much of a camp at all—just a conglomeration of sleeping bags under a canopy of trees.

Ash lolled his head to the side, looking toward Pikachu, who was peacefully resting beside his trainer's side. He smiled before scooting further into his sleeping bag, shivering. The frigid air stung his exposed skin; he and his traveling companions, old and new, rarely ever camped out in these sorts of temperatures. Ash was thankful that it happened to be warmer winter, and that it hadn't snowed much in Kanto this season.

Just as the trainer was about to slip back into unconsciousness—he had only had three hours of sleep, after all—he heard the blaring rumble of a helicopter above him. He quickly sat up, watching the aircraft through the slivers of visible blue sky above him. Everything else was green from the overhang of trees. The branches billowed when the chopper passed directly over camp, and Ash held his breath. He relaxed as soon as it disappeared from sight.

"To answer your question, yes, that helicopter was for us."

Ash blinked and looked over to his left side to see Leaf sitting on a stump, a computer situated on her lap.

"What're you talking about?" Ash asked.

"Aerial firefighting," the brunette explained shortly. "That chopper's probably on its way to drop water."

"Oh."

Leaf was silent as she mechanically typed on her computer. Ash, his curiosity now having gotten the better of him, slid out of his sleeping bag and staggered over to her. The young agent didn't pay any attention to him as he approached.

"I thought Lance said not to bring technological stuff or anything. So someone couldn't track us."

"That's what this is for," Leaf replied, tapping on some sort of black, blinking box that was hooked up to her computer via one of its USB ports. The second port was connected to a similar-looking device. "It's constantly rerouting the IP address, so no one can pin down a specific location on us. This other one right here-"

"-gives you access to the Internet." Leaf and Ash both snapped their heads toward where they'd heard the voice. Gary was in the middle of sitting up, stretching and yawning. "I know. I've used them before. They're essential gear for field researchers like myself."

"Go back to sleep, Garebear," Leaf groaned. Before Gary could respond, an amused laugh tore through the air.

"Garebear," Misty chortled as she rolled over in her sleeping bag to face the general direction of the three other trainers. "That's cute. I think I'll start using that one."

Gary glowered at her, and then at Leaf, who smiled smugly and shrugged her shoulders. Misty lifted her head slightly, resting her chin on her hand.

"So, why are you trying to access the Internet, anyway?" she asked.

"I wanted to know what time Lance and the others had scheduled their press conference, and where I would be able to find a live stream," Leaf answered, quickly shutting off her laptop and folding it. "I plan on watching it. It's mainly the reason why I brought the laptop along. Anyway, they're supposed to speak at noon. We'll leave here by 10:30 a.m., and travel for an hour and half before briefly stopping to watch the live stream." Gary raised an eyebrow.

"Are you sure that's such a good idea?" he cautioned.

"It'll be fine." Leaf waved her hand. "Trust me, the re-router will prevent anyone from figuring out we watched it. It's my personal computer, anyway, so even if Team Rocket was tracking personal devices, they probably wouldn't be looking at mine."

"That's not what I meant," Gary pressed.

"Then what _do_ you mean?" Leaf asked with a tired sigh.

"Just think about this for a moment: We're going to be watching a live cast about our _own deaths_. You don't think that's problematic?"

"I don't see your point," Leaf dismissed. "We know this isn't real. We know we're eventually going to return home, alive and well."

"All right, fine," Gary gave in, though he was clearly frustrated. "You're obviously right. You're the G-Men agent, aren't you? Clearly, your judgement is far more superior than mine or any other person here."

"Don't be such a child, Gary."

"Right. Sorry," Gary continued with his exaggerated penitence. "I am a child. I was wrong to question you as the 15-year-old adult in this situation."

Leaf rolled her eyes.

"I'm going back to sleep," she told him plainly, slipping her laptop back into her shoulder bag before laying back down. Gary shook his head and also settled back into his sleeping bag. Misty cast Ash a sideways glance.

"Did... they always fight like this?" she asked. Ash nodded quickly.

"Oh yeah."

_**December 26th, 2001. Morning. Pallet Town.**_

Professor Oak's lab seemed quieter without Gary around. It was strange to not hear the young researcher and his grandfather mumbling scientific jargon to one another as they both analyzed the notes the former had taken during his field studies in Sinnoh.

Wallace had dropped by earlier to inform them that Officer Jenny had delivered the tragic news to Lance, and to expect phone calls from media relations after the press conference later that day, when the G-Men would release the names of the fourteen children who had "died." Professor Oak took the message in stride, but returned to his bedroom shortly thereafter—probably to meditate and write poetry, Tracey hypothesized. It was his way of relaxing during troubling times; and the time in which he would need to feign mourning for his grandson's supposed death was troubling indeed.

Meanwhile, Daisy and Tracey had gone straight to the television to see if there were any reports on the accident: There were. Nothing specific about it, of course, but some aerial footage of the flaming vehicle as well as some shots of Cynthia and Lance pressing through the crowd of reporters near the scene and heading under the yellow caution tape. The two Champions' public appearance—Cynthia's especially, considering she was from the far-off region of Sinnoh—led to a buzz of speculation among news commentators, suggesting the accident had something to do with the string of attacks throughout the Pokémon nation if both of the Champions were closely involved.

Perhaps more interesting, however, was the implication that the highly secretive organization, the G-Men, was working on the case. Champions were rarely seen together outside of special tournaments and fundraisers. The context of the situation certainly provided that, in this case, Cynthia and Lance were working together as the heads of the Indigo and Sinnoh divisions of the G-Men rather than idolized Pokémon Masters for public pageantry.

The doorbell suddenly rang. Daisy and Tracey sat motionless for a long while before realizing that Gary wasn't there to answer the door. Tracey left Daisy's side and headed into the living room.

"Oh, hello Brock," Tracey greeted amicably. "Please, come in. What brings you here?"

Brock smiled tiredly as Tracey led him into the room where Daisy currently resided. Her eyes were still glued to the television screen in a trance-like state.

"Steven sent me," Brock explained. It seemed that he had aged several years overnight. "He's in charge of calling all the families, and the only people still needing to be contacted are Violet and Lily."

"Oh..." Daisy's voice was uncharacteristically dream-like as she drifted into the conversation. "... Tell Steven not to worry about that. I should do it myself."

"I figured you'd say that," Brock confessed, shrugging. "You're not the first."

Tracey frowned and asked, "How did Steven get ahold of all those numbers? I don't recall him or anyone else taking them down."

"I think," Brock began simply, "the G-Men have more access to personal information than they would have us believe." Brock seemed too detached from the whole situation to really be bothered by the disturbing implications of his statement. Why that was, Tracey couldn't be sure, but he knew he could probably make a good guess.

The silence was broken when Daisy spoke up again, sounding a little less distracted than before.

"Do you think we could make it to Cerulean City by car before noon?" she asked. Brock and Tracey both looked at her in bemusement.

"Yes... why?" Tracey asked.

"Well," Daisy began, twirling one of her yellow curls with a finger. Her eyes had navigated back over to the television screen. "They just announced they'll be covering the press conference where the Champion people are supposed to speak at noon. I don't want Lily and Violet to find out that way, and I don't want to tell them over the phone. It just seems so... um... what's the word I'm looking for?"

"Impersonal?" Tracey offered.

"Sure, let's go with that," Daisy said. "So, think we could make it?"

The artist pressed his knuckles to his chin, thinking.

"If we leave now, yes," he finally decided. He then disappeared for a brief moment before returning with a set of car keys dangling in his hand. Daisy slowly stood up when he approached, smoothing down a wrinkle in her pink blouse.

"But... you'll help me right? You'll help me tell them?" she asked, or perhaps more accurately, pleaded. "They're going to cry, and I'm going to cry, and it won't be very much fun at all. You have to promise not to laugh if my mascara runs!"

"I promise. And, of course I will help." Tracey then turned to Brock. "Would you like to come with us?" It was a polite offer, but not a genuine one, and Brock could see that.

"No," Brock refused, "but, if Lance will allow it, I plan on at least returning home before New Year's." 'To his family' were the words that he left off there.

"Completely understandable. Would you mind letting Professor Oak know, then, that Daisy and I are out?"

Brock nodded, but said nothing. His gaze was averted from Tracey's, and he was looking at the television. On screen was video of a helicopter dropping water on the fiery bus. He felt a powerful ache in his gut, and he constantly had to remind himself, _to his family_, _to his family_...

_**December 26th, 2001. Late Morning. Viridian City.**_

"That poor, poor woman. He'll kill her for sure."

According to Steven, Alder had been languidly uttering the same phrase over and over again since that morning, and Cynthia couldn't help but feel bad for him. She dropped a tablet of Alka-Seltzer into a complimentary Styrofoam cup of water and pushed it toward him.

"Here, drink this," the Sinnoh Champion offered. "You really shouldn't have had so much wine last night."

Alder seemed to snap out of his melancholic, half-drunken state, even if just temporarily, and he flashed a grin at her.

"Chastising an old man, eh? I suppose I deserve it, though," he conceded. "Still, I don't mind it as much coming from a woman as pretty and kind as you are."

"Always a flirt, even at rock bottom." Cynthia smiled and shook her head. "I'm serious. Drink. It's nearly noon, and the press is expecting us on stage soon." Alder's face suddenly fell, as though he were just reminded of where they currently were: Backstage to the conference room adjunct to the Virdian City Police Department, waiting.

"Right, right..." He sighed and took a swig of the drink Cynthia had provided for him. "That poor, poor woman. He'll kill her for sure."

Cynthia frowned and left the aged Champion to his mourning. She slid into a chair beside her husband, who wasn't dressed for the occasion as he no longer held a position of leadership that warranted an appearance in front of the press. Seated across from the couple was Wallace, drumming his fingers against the tabletop. Lance was nowhere in sight, but his absence wasn't worrisome to the three. He would appear in perfect timing; he always did.

"You seem much better than you were this morning, Cynthia," Wallace commented once she had situated herself.

"I am, thank you," she replied, nodding.

"That's good. Lance needs you to read that speech." A short silence fell and Wallace averted his eyes away from Cynthia. Steven then cast his wife a curious gaze, noting her unreadable expression as she, in an absent-minded response to the Wallace's statement, straightened with her hands the papers of the speech the couple had written together.

"It's funny to think, isn't it? They're probably not that far away from here. No more than seven or eight miles..." Wallace sighed after a little while before adding, "I wish he would just tell us what's wrong." He flicked his head toward Alder, who was still drinking his medicated water and repeatedly murmuring the same words to himself.

"Why, he has been," Steven smiled, almost ironically.

"But I can't make any sense of it," the Hoenn Champion protested. A hint of frustration had leaked into his typically even-tempered tone. Steven's expression darkened, and when he spoke again, his light-hearted, perhaps even strangely playful, demeanor turned a tad bit more serious:

"When Alder stumbled out into the living room this morning, he already had been mumbling about that 'poor, poor woman,' and the first thing he asked me was whether I had called the McGonnigal family yet. When I told him I had, he wailed, 'Oh, he'll kill her for sure!' and has been saying the two in conjunction since."

"The McGonnigals?" Wallace wondered aloud. "You mean that Trip boy. The one from Unova."

Cynthia suddenly spoke, "Alder has been a Champion longer than any of us have. Despite Lance's low opinion of him, he has come to understand something we all have yet to learn: That power doesn't warrant you control." Wallace looked at her, curious as to why this was relevant to the conversation they were having.

"I'm not sure I understand," he confessed.

"I think that's the point," Cynthia said. It was both teasing and cynical, an unusual approach for the Sinnoh-born.

"Do you understand, then?" Wallace asked.

"I think I'm starting to." She paused before continuing, "You want to know what's actually funny? Ironic, really: That we think Alder is a fool when maybe, all along, we've been the foolish ones. That includes Lance." When she saw that Wallace was still confused, she waved her hand dismissively and said, "Anyway, the main point is that we can't stop bad things from happening." Wallace then turned his gaze to Steven, who shrugged, but nevertheless seemed fairly in-tune to what Cynthia was saying.

However, perhaps the more intriguing sight for Wallace would have been that of Cynthia, whose expression cycled through an array of emotions that finally ended in a look of disgust. She set her speech down and slid it across the table to him.

"You should read it." She nearly sounded defeated. He blinked.

"I already have," he said.

"No," Cynthia clarified. "You should be the one to _deliver_ it." If Wallace panicked, it didn't show. He merely raised a questioning eyebrow.

"I'm not as practiced as you are," he stated plainly.

"Then practice now," she persisted. "Though, I doubt you need to. You're an orator; a coordinator, a showman. You could improvise and deliver it flawlessly." Before Wallace had a chance to answer her insisted proposition, Lance swept into the room and toward the group of three. He had cast a quick glance at Alder and showed a look of disapproval, but otherwise didn't address him.

"Two minutes," he warned. "Cynthia, I hope you're ready."

"I don't need to be," she replied, "because Wallace is speaking, not me." Lance glowered at her.

"Why?" he asked, not demanding, but exhausted-sounding.

"No particular reason," Cynthia said flippantly, though it was apparent there was one.

"All right. Fine. Just..." Lance groaned, raking his fingers through his hair and casting another frustrated look at Alder. "Somebody please find some sunglasses and put them on him. _Please_." Wallace, the speech now clutched in his hand—a tacit acceptance of the responsibility Cynthia had passed on to him—reached into his bag and pulled out a pair with white and teal rims. He then handed them to Lance, who in turn put them onto Alder, covering his bloodshot eyes.

"How do I look?" the Unovan asked with a crooked grin, coming out of his detached state once again. The colorful, high-class even, sunglasses looked very out of place with Alder's nomadic appearance.

"Fabulous," Lance muttered sarcastically. "Cynthia, since you're not speaking, would you mind standing next to him and making sure he doesn't sway and fall off the stage? We don't need to embarrass ourselves any more than we are already going to today."

"Not at all," Cynthia answered. "I'm sure Alder will actually be quite happy about it." Alder let out a hearty, though empty laugh.

"I sure will!"

"All right then," Lance resolved. "If you're ready then, Wallace, let's head out." Wallace nodded and rose to his feet, following behind the Indigo Champion. Cynthia temperately pressed a kiss to Steven's cheek before taking Alder by the arm and leading him out the door and to the stage. The four Champions were greeted with a quick succession—a storm, really—of camera clicks and an excited rise of murmurs from the reporters, photographers, and videographers.

"_All four Champions? Here in Viridian?_"

"_This is unprecedented!_"

"_It must be true, then: The G-Men must be involved._"

"_Karen, get the camera ready; this is gonna be huge._"

Wallace stepped up to the podium, undaunted. He raised his hands and hushed the crowd, as if by magic. The would-be silence, however, was continually punctured by the click of a camera.

"That poor, poor woman," Cynthia heard Alder mumbled sadly under his breath, shaking his head. "He'll kill her for sure."

_**December 26th, 2001. Noon. Blackthorn City.**_

Clair sat upright on the sofa in front of her television. Her posture was stiff, unmoving, terrified—not for herself, but for Lance and the others. The letter she had received from the Champion Dragon Master laid slightly crumpled from several readings on the glass coffee table before her. She held her breath when Wallace began to speak, Cynthia, Alder, and her cousin standing solemnly behind him:

"_It has been a tense Holiday season this year. A time that is supposed to be happy, to be filled with the love of family and friends, has been plagued with terror and uncertainty for many regarding the perceived violent attacks against gym leaders of the Pokémon National League and community. We stand before you today to assure the people of the Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova regions that all four divisions of the Pokémon Government Men Force_"—a quiet, but audible breath of awe passed through the crowd of reporters; it was confirmed that the G-Men were involved—"_have and are continuing to work tirelessly to ensure the safety of Pokémon and Trainers alike."_

_"We intend to be transparent: The G-Men's investigations have led us to believe that the Pokémon crime organization, Team Rocket,"_—another breath of surprise swept across the floor—_" is the behind the recent inter-regional string of attacks. We pinpointed who Team Rocket was targeting and brought them under our protection. However, we also must grievously admit that we failed to protect those in need due to an unforeseeable tragic accident, and by extension, have failed the very people we govern_."

Clair shuddered; they were ruined.

_**December 26th, 2001. Noon. Location Unknown.**_

"Giovanni, sir!" A rocket grunt hurried through the steely automatic doors, breathless. Giovanni calmly turned toward the grunt, his eyes hard and his expression firm, though from the grunt's disheveled state, he feared that something must have gone awry.

"What is it?" he demanded.

The grunt took a moment to catch his breath before saying, "You need to turn on the news. Right now."

_**December 26th, 2001. Noon. Striaton City.**_

Numb.

That was the only word Cress could use to describe the way himself right now. He didn't know if there was something wrong with him, or if this was considered a normal way to react to the loss of a family member—a brother, one who was born only three minutes after himself, no less. Unlike Chili, he wasn't crying. At least, not yet. That was the scary part. It was like his brain had not yet registered the fact that Cilan was gone; he was unfeeling. He couldn't feel, which was terrifying in its own right, because he had always at least felt _something_ in his life.

"_Late last night, fourteen young trainers boarded a bus with an undisclosed destination that, we hoped and believed, would protect them from Team Rocket's forces. That bus ran over the edge of a 20-meter cliff and crashed at the bottom. The engine combusted, the bus caught fire, and left no survivors. The reason for this crash is still under the G-Men's investigation,_" Wallace's voice rang clear in the empty living room, where Cress currently resided, having decided to watch the press conference to seek after answers beyond what Steven told him.

"Wh-why?"

Cress immediately whipped his head around to see his other brother Chili, his face unattractively red and splotchy with tears and mucus, standing behind him. His shirt was covered with a messy explosion of flour and burned chocolate; he obviously had been trying to bake some kind of desert, Chili's usual go-to activity when he was grieved or angry.

After the phone call, Chili had wailed and run into the kitchen, and a clatter of broken glass and displaced pots and pans followed. Cress hadn't been entirely sure whether Chili was intentionally breaking dishes to vent his sadness and grapple with his disbelief, but the Water-type trainer honestly didn't care.

At least Chili was reacting.

At least he was feeling.

Besides, kitchen supplies and dinnerware were always replaceable. Cilan was not.

"_Why_?" Chili looked furious now as he wiped his nose with his sleeve. He then angrily stomped up to him, roughly grabbing him by the shoulders and forcing him to stand up. Cress remained expressionless. "Why are you watching this? Why would you do this to yourself? Why would you do this to me?" Chili dissolved into tears once again, the angry tone in his voice dropping off dramatically.

"I don't want to hear, I don't want to her hear how..." the red-haired waiter blubbered before losing all coherency in his words. Cress shut his eyes and appeared as though he were in pain. He tuned out of Chili's cries and allowed his hearing to pick up the rest of whatever Wallace had to say.

"_We now ask for a moment of silence as we read the names of the fourteen young trainers whose lives were lost today: Andrew Hayden ... Ash Ketchum ... Barold Pearl ... Cilan Griffith..._"

Hearing the name sent a sort of electrical shock through Cress, a reminder that this was real, that this had happened.

He suddenly felt his eyes begin to mist.

_**December 26th, 2001. Noon. Somewhere in the Viridian Forest.**_

"_Dawn Berlitz ... Gary Oak ... Iris Ajagara ... Kenneth Hudson... May Maple..._"

Dawn was sitting underneath the shade of a tree, her shoe off, massaging her swollen ankle. The journey so far had been rough on her ailment; Leaf was constantly pushing the group to keep up a quick pace so they could cover more distance. She understood the reasoning why—they needed to get as far away from the accident as possible, and the sooner they got to Dragon's Den, the better—but the lack of breaks was especially brutal on her because it gave her little chance to rest and tend to herself.

Gary was hovering near Leaf, but he was sure to keep his distance. She had become particularly snappish since their fight this morning, and he wasn't interested in receiving the brunt of her bad mood. Still, he wanted to see Wallace and the others speak on video rather than lie around and just listen to their speech.

Iris was absently playing with Axew on a fallen tree trunk. She looked up and offered Cilan, who was sitting beside her, an assuring smile. He seemed to smile back, though there was a distant look in his eyes, and he patted Axew on the head.

Kenny sat wedged between Barry and Dawn, though his focus fell to Dawn and her purplish ankle. He wanted so badly to somehow reach out to her and make the obvious pain she was feeling go away, or at least lessen, but he was at a total loss of how to do so. He hadn't packed any sort of medication or pain-reliever, and he was regretting that missed opportunity now.

May kept fidgeting around nervously, clasping and unclasping her hands, playing with her hair, and readjusting her sitting position multiple times. She seemed to be in a far different state of mind than last night when she was with her family, as if she were having second thoughts, though they were coming too late. Drew was the only one to notice her antsy behavior, and for a while debated how he should respond: verbally, physically, or perhaps by doing nothing at all. Finally, with a sudden, unusual burn of desire to take a risk, he subtly moved his hand toward hers, gently touching her fingertips. The gesture caught her off guard, and she stopped fussing for a moment to look at him shyly. The flash of her inquiring blue eyes caused Drew to lose his wits, and he retracted his hand and turned his head. She frowned and cradled the hand he'd touched with her other, wondering if perhaps it was a mistake.

"_Misty Waterflower ... Paul Rebolledo ... Richard Jayne ... Trip McGonnigal ... and Zoey Williams._"

Misty appeared relatively calm, though distant. This was unusual behavior for the redhead, who was usually all there, always involved, all the time. Ash, despite his usually naïve, careless view of the world around him, recognized that Misty was bothered and patted her on the back. Surprised, she turned her head to look at him, and he grinned at her. Her lips curved into a lopsided smile, which only widened when Pikachu leapt from Ash's shoulder to her lap to offer his own comfort.

Paul kept himself separate from the group, and had been doing so ever since they left last night, usually by lingering slightly behind and or off to the side of the pack. However, while he had been listening to the speech, something finally caught his attention that tied him into the group: Dawn and her injured ankle. He didn't turn his head, but he was watching her out of the corner of his eye as she nurtured the swollen foot. He scowled and muttered something caustically under his breath.

Ritchie had Sparky out of his Pokéball and was scratching the Electric-type behind his ears. Sparky was, of course, quite pleased with this affectionate attention, but he sensed something was off about his trainer's mood as he kept craning his neck to try and get a look at the video player on Leaf's computer every now and then.

Trip wasn't paying attention. At least, it didn't look like it. He had his digital camera out for the first time since he had come to Kanto. His memory card was nearly empty since he'd downloaded all the photos he'd taken on his Unova journey to his computer. One photo did remain on the card's memory though, and that was a still-life shot of his mother making breakfast before he left to meet Professor Juniper and receive his first Pokémon.

Zoey was expressionless, but was listening to the broadcast very carefully. Her cool, calm demeanor took a hit though when she heard her name, and despite her attempts to not think about it, her mind immediately rushed to Candice and their conversation yesterday.

_"The name of the G-Men agent whose life was lost will remain undisclosed. We will take no questions at this time._"

Leaf clicked off the website and shut down her laptop.

"Well, that was lovely," she said, standing and stretching. Gary's eyes followed her; he was trying his best to keep it contained, but he was inwardly seething. The only indication of such were the daggers in his gaze.

"They handled it very professionally." Ritchie shrugged, unsure of what else to comment.

"Of course they did. The G-Men is a professional organization," Leaf said as her hands fell to her hips.

"Could've fooled me," Gary muttered caustically. Leaf was sure to shoot an irritated glare his way.

Meanwhile, Zoey seemed to have trouble holding herself together. She was rubbing her temples therapeutically as she staggered to her feet. She had to lower her hands and fold them under her arms when they began to shake. Barry perked up when he saw how obviously disturbed she was.

"Zoey, are you OK?" he asked, genuinely concerned. The question reeled in the attention of the thirteen other group members, and they all looked to Zoey, who in turn panicked. She didn't want the others to see her like this.

"I... no," she admitted, and she crumpled. "I-I'm sorry I need a moment." She raised one of her shaky hands to her eyes and brushed away a couple of tears before turning and briskly heading off on her own.

"Wait, Zoey!" Dawn cried out, though she was unable to follow due to her ankle.

"Hey! Why are you crying?" Barry demanded, half-panicked as Dawn began the tear up.

"I-I've never seen Zoey so upset," the blunette replied before completely dissolving into tears.

"Arceus," Paul swore under his breath. May also seemed to be struggling and, after a little while, her eyes also began to mist.

"Nope! We're not doing this May," Drew admonished, tugging on her arm, trying to pull her out of the situation and away from the chain reaction of tears that was spreading like a virus among those most vulnerable. "Stop it, and stop it right now. I _cannot_ handle you crying."

As Barry awkwardly attempted to comfort Dawn, Paul folded his arms and looked to Kenny, who also seemed at a total loss of what to do.

"Well, go after her," he spat. His dark gray eyes were cold, and Kenny drew back slightly.

"What?" he asked. Paul looked even more irritated, if that was possible.

"_Her_," Paul emphasized, pointing to where Zoey had gone. It seemed he didn't know her name. "You're her friend, right? Act like it."

Kenny found himself nodding, even though he knew he and Zoey weren't exactly friends; they were certainly friendly to each other, and they had spent the last couple of days together, but that was mostly because they shared a common friend in Dawn. Still, he figured better him than Paul, and he hurried in the direction Zoey had left.

Leaf watched as Kenny ran off, and from the corner of her eye, she noticed that Gary was looking at her with an expression that was partially smug, but also resentful. She turned to him fully before warning him through gritted teeth:

"Don't. Say. _Anything_."

_****__****__**December 26th**_, 2001. Afternoon. Unknown location.

"Jessie... Jessie look at this!"

The woman sighed, exhausted, and lolled her head to look at her partner. She was lying down flat on the sofa in the lounge; they had returned to a Team Rocket base from their most recent mission not long ago, and she wasn't in the mood for laughing at stupid videos on PokéTube. Meowth was more into that, especially if the videos involved some feline-like Pokémon. Unfortunately, Meowth was with Dr. Zager at the moment.

"What is it?" she asked.

"The G-Men just did a live announcement about a big bus crash," James explained. "I'm reading an article about it now."

"And why should we care about this?" Jessie asked. "The only thing you and I have to worry about the G-Men is _not_ being caught by them."

"Jessie," James said a little more gravely, "the twerps were on that bus. And I mean, like, all of them. The redhead twerp, the twerp with the bandanna, the rude twerp, the fine twerp... and _the_ twerp himself."

"_What_?" Jessie immediately propelled herself off the sofa and toward James. It was true; already, the media had compiled a list from all the names the G-Men had released and matched photos to them.

"G-Men leadership figured out it was Team Rocket after them," James elaborated. "And they tried to transport them to somewhere safer, but..."

"It didn't work out to well," Jessie finished for him. The article included a photo of the destroyed wreckage in the Viridian forest. A chill ran up her spine.

"What do you think?" James asked. Jessie paused, slowly turning away; she didn't want to see any more.

"It doesn't matter," she answered quietly. "I mean, you and I, we both knew..." Her voice trailed off, but James understood what she meant.

"Yeah," he agreed. He tried to cover up the dejection in his voice. "I guess this was quicker."

_****__**December 26th, 2001. Afternoon. **__**Somewhere in the Viridian Forest.**_

"Hey, Zoey!"

The redhead glanced over her shoulder and inwardly grimaced when she saw Kenny jogging toward her. She turned her head away and flicked the remaining tears out of her eyes. She had settled herself on a small boulder overlooking the edge of a not-so-steep cliff and had finally begun to calm down to the point where she was almost ready to return to the group and act like nothing had ever happened.

Kenny approached her, out-of-breath, and wiping the perspiration off his forehead. Zoey watched him warily, but said nothing. After a long moment, Kenny straightened up to speak, but he realized he absolutely had no idea what say.

"Um..."

"Yes?" She might have been amused, but her voice fell flat and uncaring.

"How are you feeling?" he finally settled on. Zoey stared at him, her lips tight.

"OK, I get it, it was a dumb question. Sorry," Kenny sighed, sitting on the grass beside her. "You can't just glare at me though. I want to help you." Zoey exhaled slowly, irritation riding on the wind of her breath.

"Well, to be honest, kind of stupid," she answered bitterly. "I don't normally cry, and I hate it when other people see me cry."

"If it makes you feel any better, pretty much half of the other girls were crying after you left," Kenny offered hopefully.

"No, actually," Zoey said, raising her eyebrows, "that makes me feel worse." Kenny slumped down slightly.

"Sorry," he apologized sheepishly.

"It's all right. Gold star for trying."

She looked away, and Kenny inwardly cringed.

"So..." He knew he was treading uncertain waters here. "... is there anything I can do to help you?"

"Not really."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Zoey was silent for a long moment, thinking. Kenny watched her carefully, trying to read her expression. He knew he wasn't good at this kind of thing; Dawn would have been a much more appropriate choice for talking to Zoey, but Dawn was probably too upset herself to do it.

"I suppose I just feel guilty," Zoey opened up, answering Kenny's question.

"Guilty?"

"Candice was the one who convinced me to come," Zoey elaborated. "Obviously, I didn't tell her we were, you know... dying. So she must be just an absolute mess right now. I guess it's stupid of me, though. I know I'm not the only person going through this. I mean, you've got your parents, and you're handling it way better than me."

"It's not stupid," Kenny hastily insisted. "I'm just dealing with it by trying not to think about it; and when it does manage to slip into my head, I instead think about how everyone will feel when we get back and we're OK."

Zoey let out a short laugh, and Kenny appeared confused. He hadn't intended to be funny, but if it made her chuckle, that had to be good, right?

"What is it?" he asked.

"Nothing," she replied. "I just thought about what you said. Candice will probably break my nose and then cry after she finds out I'm actually alive."

"Oh... heh, yeah." Kenny wasn't sure how to react to that, but when Zoey smiled at him, he knew things were all right again.

"Thanks," she said. "You know, you're a good guy. I can see why Dawn is friends with you."

She certainly didn't mean it, but those words sharply jabbed at him in the heart. 'Only friends?' he wanted to ask. He clung to the hope that maybe it was more than that; that Dawn had told Zoey something more.

"Hey." Zoey and Kenny turned their heads to see Leaf standing behind them, her arms folded and her weight slung over to her right hip. She continued, "I wanted to apologize to you, Zoey. It was really inconsiderate of me to make all of you listen to that broadcast without considering how you would feel about it. That's why I've set a new rule that we're not to check out any sort of reports about this. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Zoey replied, standing up. Kenny also stood up, brushing the loose grass blades off his backside.

"You ready to keep going then?" Leaf asked.

"As long as you are," Zoey threw back.

When the trio returned, the rest of the group was gearing up to leave again. The crying had stopped, and most of the other trainers looked up and smiled at Zoey in acknowledgement but no one brought up the incident. Dawn didn't notice the arrival of her friends though, as she was very obviously struggling to move around, wincing with pain every time she accidentally put too much weight on her injured foot. May looked over at her friend with obvious concern.

"Dawn, you're really going to hurt yourself if you keep trying to walk," she commented.

"Yeah, maybe we should stay for a while longer and give Dawn a good chance to rest up," Ash suggested, looking toward Leaf.

"Maybe I could look for some Lum and Sitrus berries around her and make a medicine that would help with the swelling," Iris offered.

"I'm sorry, but we really have to keep moving," Leaf said, though she sounded very guilty about it. "We need to put as much distance between ourselves and that bus."

"We'll make due then," Paul grunted, dropping his backpack off his shoulder. He then approached Dawn and, turning his back toward her, ordered, "Get on."

Paul's actions caught Dawn off-guard, and she didn't move for a moment, partially stunned. She then looked to Zoey, who seemed just as surprised, but also suspicious. If her mind still hadn't been so occupied with other matters, she might have spoken up.

Kenny, on the other hand, was pink with jealousy. After all, _he_ had been the one who had promised _he_ would carry Dawn on _his_ back if her ankle started giving her too much trouble, and now Paul was stealing his thunder.

"It's all right, I can do it," Kenny intervened with an awkward cough.

"You?" Paul scoffed. Tired of waiting for Dawn to respond, he simply chose to hoist her up on to his back without her consent. She yipped in surprise and looked slightly annoyed. "Someone as scrawny as you are, you'll be exhausted in five minutes."

"Hey!" Dawn looked over his shoulder and glared at him. "I'm not _that_ heavy!"

Paul looked back at her and dully replied, "I wasn't suggesting you were heavy. I was suggesting he was scrawny."

"Don't insult my friends!" Dawn shot back.

"Arceus, are we really going to fight over this?" Drew asked, exasperated. "Look, if it's that big of a deal, just take turns. When Paul's tired, Kenny will take Dawn. When Kenny's tired, Paul will take her. When both of you are tired, Ash will take her, and when he's tired, I'll take her, and so on and so forth. Capiche?"

"Brilliant idea, Frankenstein," Paul grumbled. Drew narrowed his eyes.

"If you weren't carrying one of May's friends, I would punch you right now," Drew informed him, sounding scarily cordial.

"_That's enough_," Misty interjected, fed up. "If we're all ready to go, then let's just go. It seems to me that we're all just really tired, and the sooner we get to our stopping point for the evening, the better."

"And I propose we play something called _the silent game_," Trip added, equally irritated. "The person who shuts up for the longest, wins."

"Wins what?" Ritchie asked.

"Wins the first serving of dinner tonight," Cilan answered. Even he, one of the more polite members of the traveling pack, seemed exhausted by the fighting and snarkiness among them.

"Ooh, that's a good prize." Iris nodded quickly. "Cilan's an excellent cook."

"Yeah, he's the best!" Ash grinned, being as upbeat and positive as ever, though the tension did also make him feel uncomfortable.

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed.

"Perfect," Leaf said. "And the only time anyone talks is when Dawn needs to be transferred from one person to another. Starting... now."

Sweet, sweet silence ensued. The only sounds that filled the air were those of the chirping Pidgeys in the trees, and the rustle of the grass as a small pack of Rattata ran through it. The group silently began to move, and Dawn instinctively tightened her grip when she slipped slightly, but Paul was sure to catch her before she fell, and they readjusted themselves before continuing.

The silence could only last for so long, however.

"Hey! Paul!" Barry called out. "Do you want me to carry your bag for you?"

"Arceus," Zoey sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Already?" Gary muttered.

"Yes, Barry, please carry my bag," Paul growled. Dawn could practically feel his blood simmering beneath his skin. Barry grinned sheepishly and gave the dark-eyed trainer a thumbs-up before slinging his bag over his back in addition to his own. He seemed overtly thrilled to be in charge of the Sinnoh trainer's means of traveling.

"OK, let's start again," Misty said, trying to sound as even-tempered as possible, but failing. "The silent game. Starting ... now."

_**December 26th, 2001. Afternoon. Viridian City.**_

"_How will the G-Men move forward in combating Team Rocket?_"

"_How could you guys let this happen? The one time the G-Men comes out of the shadows, and they prove themselves totally incompetent._"

"_What about the gym leaders? Will you allow the reopening of gyms across the nation?_"

"_Those poor children..._"

"_Will there be any changes or reviews of G-Men policy to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again?_"

"_What's the matter with Alder Ray?_"

Stone-faced, Lance pressed forward through the crowd of reporters and other citizens who had gathered outside the Virdian City Police Department with the others trailing behind him, mumbling, "No comment" repeatedly. At the bottom of the steps waited Agent Adalet with a car to take the group away. As soon as they reached him, Adalet quickly ushered the Champions and Steven inside before heading to the driver's seat on the other side of the vehicle and starting up the engine.

"Well, that went well," Wallace commented dryly, watching the horde of inquiring reporters and angry citizens as they drove away.

"You were fantastic," Steven complimented, trying to divert attention from the matter.

"No matter how you deliver bad news, though, it's still bad news," Lance grunted, pulling the focus back. Steven frowned, but said nothing.

"It'll clear up, eventually," Cynthia said calmly. "Scandal never lasts with the turnover rate of news these days."

"Sure, but only if Team Rocket doesn't send off Mewtwo to attack someone again," Lance scoffed. "Then the spotlight's back on us, with continuing questions about our competency."

"There won't be questions when we find Giovanni and arrest him," Cynthia pointed out. She now was frowning, too.

"Of course, but that means we have to find him, and fast," Lance said. Cynthia had to take a moment to gather herself as to not lose her temper with Lance's pessimism.

"Well, then let's," she said evenly. "Your division was on the trail of Team Rocket for years before it went cold. Reopen the investigation, and pick up where you left off. You now have the resources from Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova to assist you."

"I plan on doing so," Lance replied. "And we'll start here in Viridian City."

"Viridian?" Wallace's face contorted in confusion.

"Of course," Steven interjected, smiling upon the realization of Lance's point. "Gary Oak said he faced Giovanni in a gym battle here in Viridian. I presume you're hoping we'll find some answers there?"

"Yes," Lance affirmed, "but I'd like for at least one of us to return to Pallet Town and help the families make arrangements for a memorial. Something big, something that will draw in media attention."

"I can do that," Alder suddenly volunteered, which caught the others off-guard. Cynthia had kept him hushed during the conference, and he hadn't spoken up since. He sounded far less distant than before.

"No, not you," Lance finally said, scowling. This struck an irritable nerve with Cynthia and she furrowed her eyebrows, looking at Lance in contempt.

"And why not?" she asked, a little indignant.

"Cynthia, he was drunk during the conference and other people knew it," Lance replied firmly. "Arceus, do you really think people saw those ridiculous sunglasses on him and just didn't _know_? How could we possibly trust him with something as sensitive as a mass memorial?"

"It's all right, Cynthia," Alder conceded. "Lance is right. I have been very irresponsible."

"It's not even that," she told the Unovan before returning to her attention to Lance. "You have no right to talk to him like that."

"Cynthia..." Steven said quietly, reaching out and gently touching her hand. Wallace's eyes were wide, having never seen the Sinnoh Champion so incensed before. Lance was silent, but he looked wholly unfazed.

"I suppose if it will make you sleep better, though," Cynthia continued coldly, folding her arms, "then I'll go to Pallet Town with Alder, and we'll work together. It's a large job, setting up a public mourning service on such a large scale, and it would be more efficiently accomplished with two people anyway."

The air that hung above them was tense for a long moment before Lance cleared his throat and, addressing Adalet, said, "Pull off at this upcoming hotel." The agent wordlessly obeyed, driving into the parking lot of the higher-class hotel and shifting the gear into neutral. Cynthia pressed her lips into a hard line, waiting for Lance to give her a reply. She knew he was delaying his response so he could think over what he wanted to say.

"Steven, Wallace, you will stay with me here tonight. We will investigate the Viridian City Gym in the morning," he said resolutely.

"In the morning?" Wallace inquired.

"None of have slept, or have slept very little, in the past 24 hours," Lance explained, and the dark circles under his eyes suddenly became apparent. No one really had the time that morning to pause and realize just how exhausted they all were. "We should have a clear mind when we explore the gym." The Indigo Champion jerked his head back toward Adalet and continued, "Please see to it that Alder and Cynthia make it back to Pallet Town safely."

He then opened the door and slipped outside. Wallace and Steven exchanged quick glances before they followed suit. Cynthia sat rigidly upward, watching Lance very carefully. Alder seemed a little bewildered by whole advent, looking back and forth between Cynthia and Lance.

"We will inform you of our findings tomorrow," Lance stated plainly before turning and heading toward the front desk inside. Wallace, for a moment, appeared unsure of what to do, but eventually headed after Lance. Steven lingered for a moment longer, sliding halfway back into the car to see Cynthia.

"Are you OK?" he asked, genuinely concerned. Cynthia pressed the palm of her left hand against her face and hung her head, rubbing her temple.

"Yes, I'm fine," she replied finally. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Steven smiled crookedly. "Good luck. I'll call you tonight."

He pecked her on the lips and closed the door, waving her and Alder off as Adalet drove them away.

_**December 26th, 2001. Evening. Somewhere in the Viridian Forest.**_

"Here we are," Iris said, mildly cheerful and holding some sort of mashed-up berry mixture in a wooden bowl, as she sat beside Dawn. "The Village Elder used to make this all the time for me whenever I came home banged-up from playing with Pokémon. It reduces swelling and helps alleviate pain."

"Oh wow," Dawn mused, looking at the oddly colored mixture. The blunette scrunched her nose. It smelled very sour, and it might have ruined her appetite if weren't starving. Besides, Cilan's soup—which, according to the connoisseur, would be done in a couple more minutes—smelled heavenly, and the thought of tasting it overrode the mild repulsion she felt when looking at Iris's medicine.

Iris noticed Dawn's hesitancy, so she assured her, "Don't worry. I know it seems gross, but trust me, it really does help!"

"Dawn, don't eat it!" Ash suddenly called to her. "I did once, and I got sick and threw up." Iris grimaced.

"That's because you're not _supposed_ to eat it!" she yelled back at the boy. "You're such a kid."

"Yeah, a little kid," Dawn joined in teasingly. The two girls suddenly burst into a fit of giggles, and Ash looked horrified. Pikachu couldn't resist a laugh himself when he saw the look upon his trainer's face.

"Hey!" Ash said, turning a little red with child-like anger. "I am not a kid!"

"Oh, yes you are," Misty, who was sitting nearby, sassed. "The littlest." Ash looked at her, exasperated.

"Not you too, Misty!" he cried. The redhead shrugged.

"What d'you want me to say, Ash?" she asked. "I'm just telling it how I see it. We all are. We've traveled with you before."

"And we've all come to the same conclusion," Dawn continued.

"That you're a little kid," Iris finished. More laughter. Ash huffed and folded his arms.

"Girls," he mumbled, leaning toward Ritchie, who was situated beside him and had heard the entire conversation. "They're all weird."

"I dunno," Ritchie said with a shrug. "They don't seem so bad to me. One day, you probably will think that, too."

"Wishful thinking, Ritchie," Drew commented as he passed by with May at his side. Both had a warm bowl of steaming soup in their hands. "He's almost 15. If he hasn't taken notice of the opposite sex by now-"

"-Hey May," Ash interrupted, which prompted an irritated look to cross Drew's face, "do you think I'm a little kid?"

"A little kid?" May tilted her head.

"The correct answer is 'yes,' May," Misty informed her.

"Oh, then yes," May said.

"Wait! That's not fair, you-" He abruptly stopped. "Is that food?"

"Mhm!" May nodded, grinning. "Cilan just finished, and since we all kind of failed the silent game today, it's just first-come, first-serve."

"Sweet!" Ash jumped to his feet. "I'm so hungry I could eat a Rapidash."

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed, and together, they hurried off to collect dinner. Iris again sighed about how childish the boy was. Then Barry, who had been lightly napping until he heard the word 'food' mentioned, sprung up from his sleep, surprising both Zoey and Kenny.

"Hey! Wait for me, or else I'll fine you! I'm starving, too!" he exclaimed before running after Ash.

"They're both little kids." Iris shook her head.

"Kenny and I will get you two food, if you'd like to tend to Dawn's ankle," Zoey told the Dragon Master hopeful as she rose to her feet. Kenny stood up with her in agreement.

"Thanks you guys," Dawn chirped, as she began removing her shoe.

"Yes, thank you," Iris added. Zoey nodded in acknowledgement, and as they headed off, May came and sat beside them. Drew seemed to consider what he should do for a moment, but he eventually joined them, too. With Dawn's bare foot now exposed, Iris dipped her hands into her berry mixture and helped apply it to the swollen ankle.

"I really do appreciate this, Iris," Dawn said gratefully. Her skin began tingling with a strange, warm sensation; she figured that was the medicine working.

"No problem," Iris said, grinning. "No need to worry, right?" Dawn chuckled a little bit.

"How does everyone figure out my catchphrase so quickly?" she asked jokingly.

"Right? You only say it like 20 times a day," Drew said, mocking an upbeat tone. Dawn raised an eyebrow, but she didn't by any means look upset.

"Be nice, Drew," May said, elbowing him in the ribs. Iris tilted her head, her eyes moving between May and Drew.

"So how long have you two known each other?" she began casually. May pursed her lips as she did the math in her head. She glanced toward Drew, whose eyebrows were furrowed as he did the same.

"Two? Three years?" she estimated, waiting for Drew's confirmation.

"Something like that," Drew agreed.

"Why do you ask?" May continued.

"No reason." Iris shrugged before letting out a light chuckle. "It's just, my rival and I don't seem to get along nearly as well as you two!"

"'Get along' is putting it loosely..." Drew said with a smirk, and May sent him a quick glare. After a moment's delay, however, she melted into a smug expression that matched his and cleared her throat.

"True," she conceded. "Drew was a _jerk_ when we first met." They had never before personally discussed their vitriolic encounter on the Slateport beaches, so May wasn't exactly sure how he was going to react. But, she was half-expecting some sort of snide dismissal or perhaps and a sarcastic explanation as to why his condescension toward her had been justified—which is why his actual response surprised her.

"Well, there's that," he said, nonchalantly acknowledging it. "But I was actually talking about the fact that you just elbowed me in the side. Ow. That hurt." May blinked but smiled.

"Don't be dumb," she chortled, still riding on the high of her pleasant surprise.

"Like I said—" Drew looked back at Iris. "—_loosely_."

"I don't think rivalries are a 'one size fits all' type of thing, though," Dawn slid into the conversation. "Some rivalries are friendly, and some are not. I had a rival back in Sinnoh whom I didn't get along with too well, either. But then there's Zoey and Kenny, and they're some of the best friends I could ever ask for."

"Aw, that's real sweet, Dee Dee," Kenny teased as he and Zoey returned with food. The others seemed relieved, and they gratefully accepted their provisions. Dawn let out a tired, though amused sigh at the use of her old nickname.

"Of course, there's also those rivalries that turn _romantic_," Dawn continued suggestively, looking pointedly at May and Drew. Kenny, however, also perked up at the mention.

"How often does that really happen, though?" Drew asked, flicking his hair. He knew what Dawn was doing, and he was playing his cool; he didn't want a repeat of Christmas Eve, when Misty had managed to trap him into venturing out into 40-degree weather using May as bait.

"More than you'd think," Kenny mumbled. "At least, from one end of the relationship." Zoey craned a suspicious, though curious eyebrow at him.

"Right... Well, I'm off to bed," Drew said with a wave of his hand. "I'm guessing we're going to do a lot of traveling tomorrow, too, and I'm tired anyway."

"And I'm going to get seconds!" May added triumphantly, standing up. "Ash was right. Cilan _is_ a good cook. I'd have a very hard time deciding whether I preferred his or Brock's dinners."

"More food, huh?" Drew shook his head. "How very typical of you."

She scoffed.

"'Night, Drew," she said, deciding she didn't have an adequate response to his snark.

"Goodnight," he replied before the two went their separate ways.

"I want them to start dating," Zoey said curtly, turning her head toward the group once the couple was out of earshot.

"I want them to get married," Dawn added.

"I want to see whether their kids will have green hair or not," Kenny finished. They stared.

* * *

Leaf was alone.

She had separated herself from the group shortly after they arrived at their stopping place for the evening, setting up her sleeping arrangements underneath the thinning canopy of an older tree. She lied face-up on top of her sleeping bag, but she wasn't tired. Although she wore a blank expression, a mess of thoughts jumbled her mind, and she couldn't make much sense of them. Curled up beside her was a Flaaffy, her Flaaffy, and the glowing orb on the end of its tail was the only source of light she had.

"Some day, huh? Bit more crying than you probably expected."

Leaf let out an audible groan, balling her fists and pressing them up to her forehead in exasperation.

"I am _so_ not in the mood, Gary," she said. "Look, you got me: Today was an emotional disaster because of me. You don't have to tell me twice."

"You know, I have to admit, I am partially surprised you're willing to own up to it," Gary said. "Then again, maybe that's only because I'm around to keep you in check."

"Step off," she snarled. "Your ego is showing."

"All right, all right," Gary gave in with a satisfied smile. "I'm not here to fight you. Look, I brought you dinner."

"Don't try to ameliorate you being a jerk with food."

"_Wow_, you get really defensive when you're wrong." Gary let out a laugh. "Just take it; I swear I didn't poison it or anything. You know, we used to be friends, Leaf."

Leaf watched him for a long moment, considering his words. Then, using her hand, she pushed herself up into a sitting position. Gary took that as an invitation, and he sat beside her, holding out the bowl of soup toward her.

"Thanks," she muttered, accepting the offering. She blew the steam off her spoon and took a tentative sip. After taking a moment to process its taste, she let out a contented hum. "This is actually very good. Who made this again?"

"Cilan."

"Well," Leaf began with a short pause, "compliments to the chef."

Gary watched her carefully, allowing her to indulge in a few more spoonfuls of her meals in silence. He wanted her to relax, to get her to let her guard down, before he spoke up again.

"So, how _did_ you get into the G-Men anyway?" he asked after a while. "That's not a dig at you, by the way. I'm genuinely curious. And don't try to circumvent answering by pointing out that I'm a Pokémon Researcher. I have a connection through my grandfather, and that's how I got my foot in the door. You and Lance aren't related, as far as I know. You had to impress him somehow, didn't you?"

His timing wasn't right.

"If you're going to ask about the G-Men, you're going to have a bad time," Leaf replied candidly.

"Why?" Gary glowered at her.

"I feel like this is a courtroom interrogation. Anything I say can and will be used against me," she answered plainly.

"That's one way of looking at it," Gary mused. "Of course, that would make you the defendant and me the prosecutor. What would I be trying to convict you of? Being a self-centered teenager, like the rest of us?"

"Yes, actually, that's exactly what you're trying to do." Leaf lowered her soup bowl into her lap. "You're trying to undermine my authority. If you can do that, then it becomes easier for you to get your way—that is, to get to Giovanni."

"You don't have any authority."

"I do, according to Lance."

"Lance isn't here," Gary pointed out. "The only thing that supports your alleged leadership is the respect of who you're leading. And—" He chuckled derisively. "—you don't have that. You haven't done much to earn it. The little you gained from your, admittedly, impressive dialysis of that Shamouti prophecy was lost with your behavior this morning. The only person who undermined your authority is yourself."

Leaf let out a long, exasperated sigh as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Yeah, well..." She trailed off, thinking. "Give me time, and I'll make it all right again. Although, I suppose it doesn't matter much anyway. We made it through the hardest part, and it should be smooth sailing from here. We just have to stay away from trainer's paths, and we'll be to Dragon's Den in no time. I'll be in Lance's good graces again, and the only thing any of you will need to do is wait patiently while the G-Men nab Giovanni."

Gary might have launched into another spiel on why he thought the G-Men would never find Giovanni, but he instead focused his attention on another detail, and he quickly latched onto it.

"Wait, you're _not_ in Lance's good graces?" he asked, surprised.

"Well, he was miffed that I went to Shamouti Island without telling him," she explained, apparently less bothered by it. "He wanted me to escort Brock to Pallet Town instead."

"Why would he send you with us if he was mad at you?" Gary asked.

"I don't know. I don't know what goes on inside his head." Leaf shrugged.

"Yeah, no kidding. He didn't tell you?"

"He said he would after we got back," Leaf answered, now growing frustrated. She had not intended to get into this conversation with Gary; she had not intended to speak with him at all, yet he had somehow managed to squeeze the words out of her anyway.

Gary was silent for a long moment, digesting this new information.

"Interesting_..._" he finally commented distractedly. "A very clever tactic by him. I think I'm starting to understand what Adalet said more and more."

"_What?_" Leaf was completely lost, though she hid it under an irritated expression. "You know what, I'm done with you. Go away, your pretentious socioanalytic theories are driving me up the wall."

"Fine," Gary conceded, standing up. "It all works out in my favor anyway. Just wait until Ash has his next dream, you'll see."

Leaf inwardly seethed as he walked away and, after calling Flaaffy back into her Pokéball, she pulled her sleeping bag over herself, though she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep with new thoughts cluttering her mind.

.

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	12. XI: In Which Steven Pulls Through

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Chapter XI: In Which Steven Pulls Through

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_**December 27th, 2001. Early Morning. Somewhere in the Viridian Forest.**_

The crackle of flames briefly captured Trip's attention, and he looked up to see that Cilan had managed to rekindle last night's fire. The connoisseur smiled, appearing to be quite pleased with himself, before beginning to set up his kitchen-on-the-go. Trip rolled his eyes and returned to his previous task of staring at the digital photo on his camera. He (and he knew it was pathetic) had been constantly returning to the image since yesterday afternoon, trying to memorize the aging lines of his mother's face, her ashen pink smile, her tired gray eyes...

"Look, look!" he heard Iris cry to Cilan, apparently having joined the (late) Striaton Gym Leader at his side. When he did, she exhaled a full breath of effulgent, misty air. "We've all turned into Ice-types! Ugh, of all things, Ice-types."

"Ax Axew," Axew whined as he popped out of her hair, shivering at the cold thought that his trainer and her human companions had all turned into his worst enemies.

Cilan let out an amused chuckle, a white stream of mist coming from his own mouth as he did.

"We're not Ice-types," he explained. "When it's cold outside, the water vapor in your breath condenses into lots of tiny droplets of water and ice that you can see in the air. It's called _condensation_."

Iris scowled.

"Rainbows aren't magical if you explain the science behind them, Cilan."

* * *

"Oh my gosh," Dawn inhaled sharply. Ritchie stirred and sat up, rubbing the sleep out of eyes as he looked to the coordinator with concern. She was hunched over, and her fingers were clutching her ankle. Her eyes were narrow with focus, and her lips were slightly parted with wonder.

"Is something wrong, Dawn?" he asked.

"No, I'm fine. Better than fine, actually," Dawn murmured in response. She continued examining herself with utter fascination before slowly rising to her feet. At first, she seemed hesitant to apply full pressure to her injured foot, but once she did, she let out a delighted laugh.

"Wow! Iris's medicine worked like a charm!" She was positively beaming. "I feel totally fine! I should've had her apply it long ago. Otherwise, Paul wouldn't have had to carry me."

"Mmf," Paul grunted at the mention of his name, which caught Dawn off-guard. He had slept with his face fit into the nook of his bent elbow, and he lifted his head to look up at her. His expression consisted of his usual indifference.

"What? What do you need?" he demanded. His voice was sore from the cold weather. Dawn seemed to relax and let herself smile, recognizing that he was still half-asleep and had missed the context in which she brought him up in conversation.

"Oh, nothing," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "I was just thinking, though... I never got to thank you yesterday! It was really, really... nice," Dawn seemed hesitant to use the word, "of you to help me out. I owe you one."

"..."

He stared. Then he threw the top off his sleeping bag off of him and, slipping on his jacket, left. Dawn huffed as he walked away and folded her arms before she sat back down.

"That guy!" She shook her head. "I swear-" She didn't finish her sentence. She left it hanging in the air, though its frustrated message was clear. Ritchie's eyes moved back and forth between Dawn and the now-distant Paul.

"Is there something going on here?" he asked. He tread through his words carefully, not wanting to embarrass or upset Dawn. She, however, merely sighed, unoffended.

"No," she replied plainly. "I just don't think he's used to people thanking him or saying nice things to him."

Ritchie wanted to ask why she thought that—in certain ways, he felt out of the loop when it came to the dynamics of some of the group members' relationships, though he supposed most everyone else felt the same way—but he thought better of it.

"He's kind of sweet on you, though," Ritchie commented finally. Dawn blinked. She didn't seem surprised, but rather awed that someone could possibly make that suggestion.

"I think your definition of 'sweet' is skewed," she said. "Paul is anything but sweet. Zoey would _gladly_ tell anyone that. He's-"

"-Yeah, you're right," Ritchie conceded, remembering his snipes at Max and Drew before they left. "But, he does treat you differently."

"You think?" Dawn appeared bemused by this new revelation. Ritchie nodded.

"I mean, this is just coming from an outside perspective, but he pretty much ignores everyone else. He seems a little more... willing, I guess you could say, to engage with you." He shrugged. "You guys know each other, right?"

"Not exactly. He was a major rival for Ash while we were traveling with each other, but we didn't really talk until... oh..." She stumbled with realization and, for a moment, looked uncharacteristically pensive. Ritchie perked up.

"Until?" he pressed.

"It's no big deal. No need to worry!" She flashed a grin and quickly changed the subject. "You know, Misty said you and Ash are a lot like each other. I can see it, but you're a lot more observant." This comment elicited a short chuckle out of Ritchie.

"That's new. I've heard that I'm a lot like Ash before, but observant?"

"Well, remember Ash is completely _unobservant_. You know..."

"... with Misty?" Ritchie suggested.

"With Misty," Dawn agreed.

_**December 27th, 2001. Morning. Pallet Town.**_

"Mime mime mime," Mimey hummed as he waddled to answer the front door. On the Ketchum doorstep stood a nearby neighbor holding a glass pan with some sort of casserole in it.

"Oh, hello, Mimey," she greeted. The pan trembled slightly in her hands. "Is Delia here? I can't believe Ash... well, I suppose she's probably not in the mood for seeing anyone. Besides, she and the professor have always been... and he lost Gary so... well, here, give her this. I know it's not much but, well, it has a note attached with my phone number in case she wants to talk. Do you understand? I'm not good with Pokémon. I can never tell whether they understand human speech or not."

Mimey patiently listened to her as she rambled on before taking the pan, slamming the door, and trotting toward the kitchen—all with his usual placid smile pressed onto his powdered white face.

"More food?" Harley commented from the sofa as he watched the Barrier Pokémon move. "Geez, it's like people think a bowl of jello will just fix everything."

"People don't know how to react to tragedy, especially when it involves children," Solidad said. She was sitting beside him, browsing the web on her laptop. "Children are the paradigm of innocence. They are made of potential. They carry the future. Losing children is like losing hope for tomorrow."

"So now refrigerated goods are the hope of our future?" Harley snorted. "Although, I guess I would take a pie as our leader over May any day."

"It's about reaching out," Solidad clarified. "They're very much aware of the fact that nothing they do will reverse death, or even bring comfort to those who've lost a child. Still, people stand in solidarity with one another, shouldering the grief of family, friends, and acquaintances. It's why neighbors are trying to bring Delia food. It's why hundreds of people from all over Hoenn have and are making the commute to the Petalburg City Gym to leave heart-shaped notes, flowers, and Teddiursa dolls on its doorstep. It's why there was a candlelight vigil in Twinleaf City last night. It's why all flags were flown at half-mast in Veilstone City. It's why Striaton City held a city-wide minute of silence."

She clicked through various browser tabs showing the online news articles reporting on all this as she spoke. Harley pressed his lips into a hard line as he watched the headlines from The Cerulean City Tribune, The Nuvema Press, The Snowpoint Times, and dozens of other publication flash across the laptop's screen.

"It's why Cynthia and Alder are organizing a mass public memorial. There needs to be a way for the world to cope," Solidad finished.

"The reason why they're organizing the memorial is to sell a convincing story to Giovanni," Harley attempted to correct her.

"I'm not saying there aren't political reasons for the G-Men doing it," Solidad replied. "Of course, I'm sure Lance and the others are hoping the mutual grief will draw people to stand together against Team Rocket. But, this transcends politics. I only can enjoy observing the human condition now, because I _do_ know it's not real."

"Why must you always deconstruct my criticism?" Harley glowered at her. Solidad smiled crookedly.

"I've had a lot of practice with Drew."

* * *

It came as a gift; at least, it was for her.

There had been a lot of discussion regarding the venue for the memorial. Several options had come up, but no definitive plans had been made. Cynthia was beginning to grow frustrated, because she knew they needed to pick a place soon. She and Alder still needed to arrange other things, but little else could be accomplished until a place and date were set.

"Maybe a gym?" Caroline suggested. "Norman and I would gladly open the doors for the Petalburg City Gym. Oh, but I suppose it's too small, isn't it?"

"Perhaps the church in Goldenrod, then?" Delia inquired. "It's the largest in Johto. I've seen it in photos, I've always wanted to visit it, but..."

Cynthia sighed as this suggestion launched a conversation whether such a location would be politically correct, and she excused herself when her phone began ringing. She mouthed a "sorry" to Alder and stepped out. In the living room, Reggie was sitting on the coach and appeared to be drafting something on a scrap piece of paper. Maylene and her Lucario were nearby on the floor, meditating.

"Hello, this is Cynthia Stone speaking," she said, pulling her fingers through her blonde hair as she spoke. "Brandon?"

Reggie suddenly went rigid, and Maylene, sensing his alarm, ended her meditation to look at him in concern.

"Yes, we are planning a memorial as a matter of fact. Why? ... Oh. Oh, I see. I'm so sorry. Did Steven talk to you yesterday? I see. I had never... well, if you're sure. I can call you back later to confirm. It's so kind for you to offer, though. We were actually just discussing that. The other parents, I mean. And Brandon? My most sincere apologies." She ended the conversation, though a solemn expression remained etched on her soft face.

Reggie cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry," he prefaced, "but was it Brandon Blair, the Pyramid King, to whom you were talking?" Cynthia looked at him in surprise, only now noticing his presence.

"Yes," she affirmed. "He's offering the Battle Pyramid as a place to hold the memorial. I suppose it would be poetic, wouldn't it?"

"Oh, I don't think so." Reggie's statement hardly came off as harsh; rather, his voice fell flat, indifferent. Cynthia tilted her head.

"You're as much a part of this process as Paul's brother, Reggie," she said. "I can sense this makes you uncomfortable. If you think it wouldn't be fair to you or your brother..."

"No, no," Reggie cut in, waving his hand. "My opinion is irrelevant. It should be up to the Delia, Caroline, and Johanna. It'll give them peace of mind. Besides, I'm lucky enough to be writing my brother's obituary." His voice was layered with irony, but it was too thick for Cynthia to dissect in the time allotted to her.

"Well, OK," she hesitated before heading back into the other room. Maylene rose to her feet once the Champion left and took up residence beside her boyfriend.

"You're really tense," she commented, clutching his stiff shoulders. "Would you like to do some stretching?"

This elicited a small chuckle out of him.

"No, you've always been the more flexible one," he teased.

Maylene could have laughed, too, but her expression remained solemn as she replied, "It's never too late to learn to be."

_**December 27th, 2001. Late Morning. Viridian City.**_

"Do you suppose Agatha knew anything?" Steven asked as he, Wallace, and Lance ascended the marble steps to the Viridian City Gym. Despite having been unoccupied for nearly two years, the building was in fair condition, though signs of abandonment were still present. The water fountain in front had run dry, and a splintering crack in the grandiose double doors had discreetly crept its way up the left side.

"No, she would have said something," Lance replied plainly as he unlocked the doors. He scowled when he saw the crack and added, "We spent nearly $30,000 making the necessary renovations to this place. And for what? For Agatha to use it for a couple of years before letting it fall into disrepair again."

"Wouldn't she have noticed something, though?" Wallace continued, ignoring Lance's gripes.

"Maybe," Lance admitted. "But we weren't looking for anything then. Maybe there's something, something hidden..."

"Yes, Giovanni's proved he's very, very good at hiding things," Steven humored. Lance sent the former Hoenn Champion an irritated glance before pushing the doors open.

"We should check where his private office would have been," Lance stated as he led the two other men inside. The dust of the earthy battlefield swirled at his feet whenever he took a step. "Make sure to listen for any unusual noises."

"Unusual noises ... ?" Wallace murmured inquisitively under his breath, but Lance paid him no attention. He then looked to Steven, who merely smiled and nodded.

Across the battlefield, the three men headed up another set of stairs and into the back end of the gym. The room they entered was barren: gray tiles, a row of stony Roman columns running alongside the mahogany walls, and a large cobalt oval rug and desk at the center of it all. The only source of illumination was a circular skyview that cast its sunlight directly upon the desk.

Lance reached into his cape and unveiled a polished black cane that extended when he pulled on the rounded tip. Wallace stood motionless for a long moment, watching Lance slide the cane across the paneled walls as he walked the perimeter of the room. The Indigo Champion's face remained stoic as each wooden panel returned a full 'thunk' in response to the cane.

Meanwhile, Steven seemed very interested in his own footwork, taking each step with exact precision. He also seemed to be listening for something. Wallace heaved a frustrated sigh and went to sit down at the mahogany-colored desk.

"Did this belong to Giovanni?" His question received an empty response, and Wallace had to repeat it in order to get an answer.

"I don't think Agatha did any redecorating," Lance grumbled.

"_Thank you_," Wallace said, a little indignant.

He glanced back down at the desk, noticing the thick layer of dust that caked the surface. There was nothing of particular interest on top—just general office supplies. He then turned his attention to the couple of drawers. The first one turned out a collection of unused Earth badges and a gray cloud of filth that made Wallace cough. The second drawer held nothing useful either. Below that was a wooden panel, much like the ones Lance was examining with his cane.

He wasn't expecting anything to happen when he pressed on it—he was simply taking his cues from Lance—which was exactly why he was so surprised when the panel unhinged and turned about 30 degrees. He felt his breath catch. He had found a secret compartment. Wallace slid out of his chair and sunk to his knees on the floor to get a better look at his find. He nudged the panel to open it further and peered inside.

"Aha, _there_," Steven said aloud suddenly. Wallace snapped his head up to see that Steven was also on his knees. Lance walked to the former Hoenn Champion and clinked his cane against the tiles he had been examining. What emerged was a distinctly empty sound. From that point, he wasted no time. He called out his Dragonite and ordered a Slam attack.

Wallace jumped at the discordant crash of tiles falling through. Lance recalled his Dragonite and descended. Steven was about to follow, but first called out to the Water Master:

"Are you coming?"

"I'll be there in a moment," Wallace replied. Steven nodded before disappearing below.

Wallace returned to the compartment. He reached inside and pulled out a large folded sheet of paper. When he unfurled it, he felt a stone drop in his stomach. He quickly folded it back up and headed after Lance and Steven.

Down the passageway Lance's Dragonite had opened up, Wallace found himself in a sickly awe for a second time. Although it had been long unattended, what lied at the end of passageway was some of sort of technological lab. At its center was a platform from which dozens of broken electrical wires hung. The damaged equipment had an otherworldly, haunted presence of its own and, after five years of abandonment, it demanded attention.

"Is this where he kept Mewtwo?" Wallace asked quietly as he approached Steven and Lance, who were examining the structure from a safe distance. There was no telling if the wires were still dangerous or not.

"Undoubtedly," Lance confirmed. A beat of silence followed before Steven turned to the Dragon Master.

"Lance... what do you suppose we're up against?"

The answer the Indigo Champion provided was not one either wanted to hear: "I don't know," he said. Steven was silent again as he began to pace around the platform, his eyes carefully digesting every gritty, mechanical detail of the technology.

"This must have cost a fortune to research and build, in addition to the science that went into cloning Mew," he observed aloud. "Why would they leave it here? Why wouldn't they repair it?"

Lance repeated the same phrase: "I don't know." Wallace decided now was the best time to unveil his finding.

"I think," he began calmly as he unfolded the paper for a second time, "I know where they went, though." Both Steven and Lance cast the Hoenn champion a curious glance before looking to see what he had in his hands.

A copy of a blueprint titled "Hoenn Base."

_**December 27th, 2001. Afternoon. Somewhere in the Viridian Forest.**_

The air had warmed with the risen sun, and the group had commenced with its travels in the late morning—later than yesterday, but the concerns regarding placing distance between the traveling pack and the accident had diminished considerably. The result was a better rested, more relaxed group of teens, which in turn meant less fighting.

"Hey, Ashy-boy." Gary came up beside Ash and Misty, bringing their light conversation to a temporary halt. "I was just wondering: Have you had any dreams lately?" Leaf, who was only a few steps ahead of them, turned her head slightly to listen.

Ash furrowed his eyebrows, thinking.

"Um... no, I don't think so," he answered finally. "Not since Christmas Eve."

"Are you sure you haven't had them, or have you just forgotten them?" Misty asked. Apparently, this was a concern for her, too.

"Nah," Ash assured her, "I can tell when I've had them, even if I can't remember much about them. I just kind of... wake up, knowing I saw something, but not remembering what, and I get all frustrated. It's like when you're little and you're trying to get into the freezer, but it's too high up and you can't reach the handle. You just keep reaching, but you'll never get it."

"Interesting metaphor," Gary mused, craning an eyebrow.

"Don't worry, if Mewtwo has something to tell me, he will," Ash said, sensing his friend's disappointment. "And I'll be sure to let you guys know all about it."

Gary let out a light chuckle.

"Right..."

He then noticed Leaf watching himself and Ash, and their gazes connected for a moment before she rigidly looked away and hurried ahead.

* * *

"Do you like her?" The question came suddenly, and it threw Paul for a loop, though he didn't let it show. At first, he didn't understand to whom the question was referring, but following the inquirer's gaze, he realized he was talking about Dawn. She and the other Sinnoh trainers—excluding himself, of course—had formed some sort of miniature pack and were walking together in a line of four. Dawn had yet to complain of her ankle since they left that morning, and she had Piplup out of his Pokéball and in her arms for the first time in several days.

"Who are you?" Paul mumbled, looking back at the person who had asked.

"Ritchie," he answered. "You and I, we're both Ash's rivals. I competed against him at the Indigo Conference. And, I watched your battle with him in Sinnoh."

"Whatever," Paul groused, "I'll just call you Nosy." Ritchie seemed more amused than offended.

"It wouldn't be all that surprising," he said, disallowing Paul from dodging the topic. "She's very cute."

Paul audibly groaned.

"Look," he began, "I don't know what you're getting at here. I understand what you're trying to do for Ash and the redheaded gym leader and Frankenstein and June—but Dawn and I?" He cast her another quick glance and scowled. She was laughing at something undoubtedly stupid Barry had said.

"She's just another troublesome girl," he finished.

"You sound astoundingly like Ash right now," Ritchie chuckled.

"Please, there is no comparison," Paul corrected, grimacing. "I at least know what the opposite sex is."

Ritchie shrugged.

"I'm just asking, because you show an obvious preference for her above anyone else. And I'm not the only one who's noticed, either," he said.

"Arceus, don't tell me she thinks-"

"-No," Ritchie clarified. "She just thinks you're acting weird. But, Zoey and Kenny are suspicious."

Paul remained silent. Ritchie continued:

"If you don't think about her in that way, then everything's fine and dandy, and you don't have much to worry about. But, if you do... I would suggest you act on it. Because you have competition."

"Who? You?" Paul snorted.

"No—Kenny."

_**December 27th, 2001. Sunset. Pallet Town.**_

"_That poor, poor woman. He'll kill her for sure_."

Alder's words from yesterday echoed in Cynthia's head as she ran her thumb across the individual buttons on the telephone. After conferring with Johanna, Delia, and Caroline and agreeing that the Battle Pyramid would be an excellent choice for the memorial, she returned Brandon's call and set a date for January 4th. She then set herself to contacting the rest of the families to personally invite them, promising that all expenses would be covered by the league. All but one had been successfully reached: the McGonnigals.

She had tried their phone multiple times, but to no avail. She had reached into the G-Men's database and tried cell phones. Still, nothing. Putting two and two together, Cynthia felt sick to her stomach (and not because of the baby).

The Sinnoh Champion set the phone aside and opened up her laptop. She logged off the database and went online to the PokéAirlines website.

"Cynthia?"

"Brock," she regarded. She didn't look up. "How can I help you?"

He slid into the chair across from her.

"I want to return to Pewter City for New Year's," he stated plainly.

"You're free to come and go as you please. You don't have to ask for my permission." She glanced up at him and smiled. "I'm not Lance."

Brock seemed relieved. Cynthia guessed he had thought he would have to fight her on the matter.

"If I was though, it might put me at ease if you were to return with Solidad," Cynthia admitted.

"I can come," Solidad, who was reading on a nearby sofa, interjected. "I have no reason to stay here, other than to keep Harley company. We'll see each other again at the memorial though, and at the Johto Grand Festival."

"Well, then—" Cynthia abruptly closed her laptop. "—It sounds like you two have it all worked out." She rose to her feet and placed the computer into her bag before hoisting it over her shoulder.

"Cynthia, are you going somewhere?" Solidad asked.

"... Yes." Cynthia seemed hesitant to reply. "If Alder asks, tell him I'll be back tomorrow morning."

"Where are you going?" Brock asked.

Cynthia cleared her throat.

"Unova."

_**December 27th, 2001. Late Evening. Somewhere in the Viridian Forest.**_

"Geez, how does it get so cold?" May complained as she rubbed her exposed hands near the dying fire. The temperatures had again fallen to such that her breath was visible. Drew glanced at her and let out an exasperated sigh, though he couldn't help but smile when she attempted to blow warm air through her fingers.

"Forget gloves?" he asked, flicking his hair. "How very... typical of you."

"Hey!" May protested, glaring at him. "I didn't realize it was going to be this chilly!"

He could have made a comment about how inane that line of thinking was. It was winter. She should have expected it to be cold. Instead, however, he found himself chuckling. She was too easy to rile up, and her childish temper never failed to be both amusing and endearing.

"Well, here," he said, reaching out and grasping her hands with his. "_My_ hands are warm."

Although it was dim, the flush of pink that swept across her facial features was obvious. Still, she made no attempt to pull away and actually seemed to appreciate the affectionate gesture. She scooted closer to him, and he curled her hands into the warmth of his chest. He also had managed to pull her gaze into his, which in turn created an intimacy that attracted the (unwanted) attention of the group members who were still awake.

"Arceus, you two are going to make me vomit," Trip grumbled as he dropped a pile of logs near the pair. "Quit flirting. I've brought more firewood. You can stay warm that way."

Both May and Drew appeared flustered, and they broke away from each other. She folded her hands under arms and shivered, while casting Drew a careful glance. He scooted away, but also couldn't help but glance over his shoulder at her

"Ugh, just look at the way he looks at her," Dawn cooed, watching the pair from afar. "I swear, they're going to give me diabetes." She hugged Piplup closer to her, and the penguin-like Pokémon nearly choked from the lack of air. Paul turned his head slightly to look at her with a narrow gaze.

"You know... 'cause they're so sweet..." Dawn attempted to explain herself, but Paul's unrelenting harsh stare deterred her. "You know what, never mind."

"I understood what you meant," Paul said flatly.

"Oh..." Dawn watched him warily as he settled into his sleeping bag. He made a point to turn away from her, which only sparked a sense of irritation and a nagging desire in the coordinator to get him to do what she presumed was what he hated most: talking to her. After all, she couldn't just leave the conversation dangling awkwardly on a hook like that, could she? No, that would mean he won.

"What's up with you?" she asked, partially demanded. "All I do is try to be nice and make conversation, and you shut me down every time."

"I'm not a talkative person," he mumbled, annoyed.

"Maybe you should be," she huffed, "because it seems like you have an awful lot to say, but you never say it."

He heaved his shoulders, but still refused to face her.

"What would _ever_ give you that idea?"

"Because nobody just walks around with a chip on their shoulder all the time," she explained, "unless there's an untold story behind it."

Paul growled as he sat up once again and glared at her.

"What do you want from me?" he asked, incensed. Dawn immediately backed down. She hadn't meant for this to turn into an argument.

"Nothing. Forget that I said anything." She laid down with Piplup by her side. "Good night." He watched her for a moment longer before doing the same.

With no one taking the initiative to tend to the fire, the flames died out on their own.

_**May 11th, 1996. Evening. Pewter City.**_

Paul returned to the Pokémon Center early, without Reggie. It felt odd having to stay in the center; it made him feel like an outsider in a place he had always considered home. After all, it had only been two years since he and Reggie went to Veilstone. Kanto was his true home region, and that was why he had decided to take up the Pokémon League Challenge there instead of traveling Sinnoh with his acquired Turtwig.

Paul would have preferred to stick around at the Battle Pyramid, but Reggie insisted—demanded—he go. The young trainer didn't plan to take offense at his brother's unusual harshness. He understood. It was a tough battle, and the stakes were high for them, above anyone else who challenged the Kanto Battle Frontier.

Of course, the battle had been hours ago, and Paul was now growing impatient. He had been sitting in that room all afternoon and into the night, idly attempting to balance a Pokéball on his finger as he awaited Reggie's return. Normally, he would have taken Turtwig out to train, but at this point, he didn't want to miss his brother.

Still, Paul didn't look up when the door opened and someone (presumably Reggie) slipped inside.

"What took you?" the younger Rebolledo asked. He was laying down on a bed, using his own arm as a pillow as he stared at the ceiling. When Reggie initially didn't respond, Paul propped himself up to look at him, and immediately knew something was wrong. His mouth was pressed into a hard line, and his eyes were glossy and bloodshot.

"What happened?" Paul scrambled to sit up. He inwardly cringed upon the realization that his elder brother had been crying.

Reggie carelessly dropped his bag at the door and sat on the bed across from Paul.

"I quit being a trainer."

"_What?_"

Reggie attempted a smile, but the curve ran funny and looked broken.

"I'm going to pursue becoming a Pokémon Breeder. That's what I've always wanted to do."

"S-so you're just going to give up?" Paul sputtered. "Because you _lost_? This is just once! His criticisms—finding in your inner strength—are you too weak to look for it?"

"No. His criticisms are perfectly legitimate," Reggie said. His voice was calm, which only served to worsen Paul's anger. "It's beyond that, though. I'm tired of playing this game. I'm actually ashamed I ever engaged in something so... twisted!" His expression changed and he let out a harsh laugh. "I should've known better. I have to set a better example for you. You deserve more, more than what I've given you, and certainly more than what _he's_ dangling above you."

Paul felt his hands shaking. He couldn't fathom what Reggie was saying.

"I'm sorry for him. I'm sorry he lost his wife. It's sad. What she did was not fair to herself or her family. But maybe if he hadn't been so busy with his research and didn't ignore her-" Reggie continued before he was cut off.

"-Shut up!" Paul jumped to his feet. "Don't bring Mom into this. And don't you dare suggest-"

"-And when she killed herself," Reggie pressed forward, rising to his feet, "instead of doing the right and responsible thing and coming home to take care of his sons when they needed him most, he swallowed his grief and instituted this sick contract that we had to defeat him in battle in order to be accepted as his family. It's not right. And I was complicit in it by accepting his challenge. Where are you going?"

Paul had grabbed his backpack and collected Turtwig's Pokéball. He was headed out the door.

"I'm going to Cerulean City. I'm going to challenge the gym leader there," he answered. His voice was empty.

"Paul, it's late, stay here." Reggie went after him, reaching for his shoulder. "Please don't get caught up in this. It's not worth it. It's not healthy." Paul recoiled, looking repulsed.

"No," he said as he backed away, preventing his brother from touching him. "I'm going to do it. I'm going to compete and get strong, and I'm going to challenge Brandon—Dad—and I'm going to win! I won't fail and give up like you."

_**December 27th, 2001. Late Evening. Nuvema Town.**_

"Thank you again for coming to pick me up at such a late hour, Jervis," Cynthia said as she gazed at the empty neighborhood streets outside the window of the car. "And at a last-minute request, too."

"I consider a pleasure, Miss Cynthia," her butler replied. His eyes flicked to the rearview mirror, and he briefly watched her as she tiredly ran her fingers through her hair. "If I may ask: What business do you have here?"

Cynthia was silent for a moment as she pondered her answer.

"Partially personal," she settled on, "partially for the G-Men."

"I see." Jervis understood she didn't want to reveal her purposes in detail, so he didn't press the matter. "It seems that we have arrived."

"Oh?" Cynthia craned her neck to get a better look at the house. The windows were still lit, which brought a mild sense of relief and hope to the Sinnoh Champion. She opened the door and stepped outside. The damp asphalt made a crunching noise under her heel. She wrapped her coat tighter around her, feeling the sting of the wet winter cold.

"I'll call for you when I'm prepared to leave," she said as she ducked her head back into the car.

"Understood, Miss Cynthia."

Cynthia shut the door and waved him off as he drove away. Once he was gone—and she was alone—she turned toward the house. A pervading sense that this was a bad idea entered her mind, but she shook it off and went forward. She tentatively rose her hand and quickly rapped on the door.

She heard a clatter of dishes from the inside, and then the slow pitter-patter of tiny feet. The door opened, revealing a yellow sliver of light across the street, and Cynthia came face-to-face with the dim silhouette of a pretty, though very thin woman.

"My apologies. I understand that it's late," Cynthia began kindly. "Are you Emily McGonnigal?"

"Yes." She nodded quickly. "May I ask who you are?"

"Cynthia Stone. I'm the Champion of Sinnoh. My husband called yesterday to tell you..." Cynthia struggled to find the right words, remembering that this woman was not aware of the truth. "... about your son, Trip."

Emily's expression fell.

"Oh yes... yes..." She buried her face in her hands and let out a sob. "My son."

Cynthia swallowed, attempting to wash out the taste of bile in her throat. She felt a cold presence clutch her heart, twisting it.

"Mrs. McGonnigal, is your husband home?" she asked. Emily sniffled, dropping her shaky hands to her side.

"N-no," she replied. "He's out with the guys, I'm sure. He's taken it pretty hard."

"Ah." Cynthia clasped her hands together. "Mrs. McGonnigal, I'm here because I've tried all day to get in contact with you. I was... concerned."

"Oh, that... that's because my husband disconnected our phone after we found out about..."

Cynthia perked up in alarm.

"He disconnected your phone?" she asked, appalled.

"Would you like to come in?" Emily asked, dodging the topic. She swung the door wide open and ushered Cynthia inside. Under the fuller light, Cynthia was able to see the purple swelling under one of Emily's lovely gray eyes.

"Mrs. McGonnigal, what happened to your eye?" the Sinnoh Champion asked. Emily appeared surprised and touched the bruise absentmindedly, wincing as she did. It was as if she had forgotten it was even there.

"This? This is nothing," she insisted, letting out a nervous laugh. "I'm a klutz. I accidentally walked into the door frame of our living room yesterday. You see, I was so upset after hearing about Trip that I... well, I felt so disoriented I just walked into the wall."

"Emily," Cynthia began boldly, "your husband isn't here. You don't need to hide anything from me."

"I-I," Emily stammered. She paused and took in a deep breath. "I'm not hiding anything."

"Um," Cynthia began as she pinched the bridge of her nose, thinking. "All right. My... my purpose in coming here was to tell you that we are hosting a large public memorial for all those lost, including your son. Since you're a parent, the G-Men are taking responsibility and offering to pay your way there."

"Where?"

"At the Battle Pyramid in Kanto, just outside of Pewter City."

"Oh. I don't think Jack would like that much." Emily tucked a loose piece of her graying blonde hair behind her ear. "He doesn't think very highly of Kanto."

"Your husband doesn't have to come," Cynthia persisted. "We could leave tonight, and you would never have to come back here again."

Emily hesitated, apparently considering her offer. Cynthia watched the aging mother hopefully. Emily wrung her hands together nervously and would occasionally look past Cynthia to check whether her husband was pulling up.

"I... no," she finally said, shaking her head vigorously. "I shouldn't dwell any longer. I've suffered enough, losing him. I wouldn't be able to... able to handle it. I can hardly bear to think about it any more. Leaving to go to a memorial... I couldn't do it, I couldn't do it." She wrapped her arms around herself and began crying once again. "No, I can't cry. I can't cry. No more, no more..."

In a final act of desperation, Cynthia said, "Emily, your son is alive. Please come." She grasped the woman's wrist, pleading with her.

There was a visible change in Emily's demeanor. A mix of shock and relief crossed her expression, and she looked at Cynthia with wide eyes.

"He's somewhere in the Viridian Forest right now, I'm sure," Cynthia explained, "along with the other children. This is meant to be a secret."

Emily gently pulled herself away from her visitor.

"Well. I suppose, then, that there is no point in attending Trip's memorial if he really isn't dead, is there?"

* * *

He tapped his fingers rhythmically against the cold steering wheel, waiting. The car's engine was off, therefore leaving the space absent of heat, which rendered his breath misty. He was now mildly regretting not bringing anything warm on his trip to Unova, but he had left Kanto in a hurry.

He was the first to notice her, walking up the lonely street with her hands fitted into the pockets of her jacket. He nearly would have missed her if it weren't for her light blonde hair; she was dressed in all black, as usual, and she blended well with the grim darkness that had descended over the neighborhood.

She stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed him. For a moment, she stood staring at him as though she couldn't believe he was there. He exited the car, exuding a warm smile.

"Steven." He couldn't hear her say it, but he recognized the shape of his own name on her lips. Now knowing that, yes, it was him, she picked up her pace toward him. He gladly welcomed her into his open arms, tucking her head under his chin.

"How did you know?" Her voice was quiet, and it wavered slightly.

"Alder told me," he said as he pulled away to look at her, though his arms remained tightly locked around her waist. "He wanted to go after you, but he called me first. I caught the next flight here. Jervis let me borrow his—your—car."

Cynthia chuckled bitterly as she buried her face in his chest.

"I'm sure Lance thinks I'm an idiot," she mumbled.

"He doesn't know," Steven said, brushing his fingers into her hair. "Lance and Wallace left for the Indigo Plateau. I told them I wanted to be with you and wanted to return to Pallet. Agent Adalet dropped me off at the airport. I don't think he plans on telling Lance, either."

"Did you find anything?" Cynthia asked weakly, looking up at him. "At the Viridian City Gym?" Her eyes were glossy with water.

"Oh, yes," Steven answered, brushing away a stray tear with his thumb. He wasn't going to bother her with the details now.

Cynthia lowered her face once again.

"I couldn't do anything."

"But, you did everything you could," Steven said, tilting her chin up. "That's the best anyone could ever ask for."

"But Emily..."

"We can't help those who are unwilling to help themselves," Steven explained. "It's like you said: Power doesn't warrant you control. Your heart was in the right place."

Cynthia broke away from Steven to wipe away some of the watery mascara that had run.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "You know me: I'm normally not so emotional and weepy like this. I suppose some of it has to do with the hormones."

Steven's face contorted in confusion.

"Come again?"

Cynthia's breath caught in her chest, and she realized she had just outed herself.

"Right, I suppose I haven't told you yet."

"Told me what?"

Cynthia inhaled deeply and grasped both of his hands with hers.

"I'm pregnant."

.

.

_A/N: As a treat, there will be a short special collection of vignettes related to this story published on Wednesday. Thank you so much for your support thus far. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated._

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	13. Special I

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Special I: In Which There Are Fireworks

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_**December 31st, 2001. Late Evening. Unmarked territory.**_

"What a gorgeous view," May sighed, looking out at the twinkling city lights over the horizon. There was no railing between the edge of the cliff on which she stood and certain death, so she was maintaining a respectable distance from the rocky fall. Nevertheless, Drew was keeping a paranoid eye on her, knowing it was well within her nature to meet her end through a series of unfortunate (and clumsy) events.

The group had left the Viridian Forest several days earlier and were now approaching the Kanto-Johto border. That afternoon, they began hiking up the mountain and had stopped at the top to set up camp for the evening. Dinner had been dry; the close proximity of the city prevented them from building any fires, lest they draw attention. Instead, many of the trainers had called out some of their Pokémon as a substitute for illumination. The glowing rings of Gary's Umbreon's body and the shining emblem on the forehead of Drew's Absol were excellent light sources.

"Sure, the city's pretty, but it's the sky you'll want to keep an eye on tonight," Leaf spoke up.

"What do you mean?" May asked, turning to face the agent.

"Didn't you know? In a couple of hours, it'll be 2002," Leaf explained. "That's why I led us up here. That's Commerce City down below, and it holds a firework show every year."

"Really? It's already New Year's Eve?" Dawn's eyes were suddenly brimming with excitement. "That's so cool! I guess I lost track of the days because I left my PokéTch back in Pallet Town."

"I think all of us did," Ritchie added with a chuckle. As a renewed sense of life swept across much of the traveling pack, Leaf let on a relieved smile and sat down on a perfectly sized boulder.

"I see what you're doing here," Gary commented, looking back at her. She didn't need to ask for him to clarify what he meant.

"You said I needed to re-earn the respect I lost by being inconsiderate," she said. "I'm guessing the best way I can do that is to be considerate. It was a shame you all had to skip out on Christmas this year. The least I could do is give you a new year."

"I think you're giving yourself way too much credit. You dragged us up an arduous mountain trail, left us in a position where our food had to be served cold, and we're all going to wake up tomorrow with a crick in our backs from sleeping on rocks—all in the name of a five-minute rocket show. Yeah, you're a real saint. I'm sure everyone loves you now."

"Do I detect bitter sarcasm in your voice?" Leaf smiled coyly. "You're just upset because we're less than a week away from reaching Dragon's Den, and Ash still hasn't had any dreams."

"I haven't given up on Ash, yet," Gary said coolly. "Maybe you think tonight is a nice gesture, but when push comes to shove... well, we'll just see how it works out."

_**January 1st, 2002. Midnight. Indigo Plateau.**_

"It's Midnight." The words tumbled out of Wallace's mouth by surprise. Alder, Cynthia, and Steven, after a long, tedious day's work of sifting through old G-Men files, had all retired to bed by that hour, leaving Lance and Wallace alone. Neither had been keeping time, however, so when Wallace noticed that the long hand of the lock had struck 12, he couldn't help but be awed.

"2002," Lance mused aloud, "only five or six more years, and maybe I'll be done with this." Wallace quirked an eyebrow at him.

"I would certainly hope we'd sort this whole thing out and find Giovanni before then," he said. Lance scoffed.

"I didn't mean that," he clarified. "He'll be caught. I meant I'll be done here. With it all. I won't be Champion anymore."

"How do you figure?"

Lance paused, carefully considering what he should say.

"Well," he began simply, "if you're anything like your predecessor, I don't want you jumping down my throat about age. Five years should be enough time."

* * *

"Cyndi," Steven breathed as he nuzzled into the crook of his wife's neck from behind. The couple was laying down together in bed, both caught in a state of twilight—somewhere between awake and asleep. "Cyndi, it's Midnight."

Cynthia stirred, turning her head slightly.

"Midnight ... ? Oh. I hadn't even realized it's New Year's," she mumbled. "I suppose I've been so busy with everything that..." Her voice trailed off, but Steven knew exactly what she meant. He propped himself up on one arm, now more fully awake, and she rolled over to face him.

"Any big plans for 2002?" he asked, almost teasingly. She smiled.

"I think parenthood is somewhere on the list."

* * *

In the back of his mind, Alder knew it probably wasn't a good idea to let a large Pokémon like Bouffalant out of his Pokéball in a small, but very nice bedroom with expensive-looking furniture and decorations. The environment was completely foreign to him; he didn't have an official G-Men headquarters back in his region, though he was technically still considered the leader of the practically nonexistent Unova division. Nature was his office, and the Pokémon were his agents. He, for the most part, let local law enforcement handle criminal activity.

Bouffalant grunted and Alder grinned, patting the beast on the head.

"Happy New Year's, ya big brute," he chortled. "We'll be home soon."

_**January 1st, 2002. Midnight. Pallet Town.**_

There was nothing to offset the difference between one year and another in Pallet; the town was simply too small to afford fireworks. When her son was younger, Delia had always made the trip to Viridian with Ash and the Oak family to celebrate the new year there. Leaf usually tagged along too, since her elderly parents struggled to make it to the late hour at their age.

So when 2001 tipped into 2002, there was no clatter of excitement with Ash screaming and jumping up and down. The clock simply ticked on quietly, as if nothing had ever changed.

Delia had stayed up, but she regretted doing so. New Year's was meant to be celebrated with friends and family, but here she was: alone, sitting on the couch, watching the clock, with bags of sadness hanging under her eyes. Everyone had left days before, returning to a world that hissed a lie that fourteen children were dead.

When the doorbell rang, she jumped slightly. She stumbled to her feet and hurried to answer it. Her visitor was none other than Professor Oak.

"I'm sorry for intruding like this so late," he apologized, "but with Gary out and Tracey in Cerulean City... well..."

"I completely understand," Delia said, nodding quickly. A relieved, almost cheerful smile was etched on her face. "Please, come in."

_**January, 1st. 2002. Midnight. Petalburg City.**_

"Y'know, when I get my first Pokémon in April," Max commented aloud, the light of the fireworks reflected in his glasses, "I'm gonna go to Johto first. I'm gonna earn those first seven badges, so that when I challenge Clair and win, she'll let me into Dragon's Den so I can see my sister."

He stood in the backyard with his parents. They couldn't go out and watch the firework show on top of the hill like most Petalburg residents, because they would be bombarded with questions and sympathies that none were willing to entertain at the moment.

Caroline smiled at her son as she wrapped an affectionate arm around him. Norman's hand fell atop his wife's, which was placed firmly on Max's shoulder.

"We'll be there to cheer you on," he said. "Clair's tough, but if there's anyone who can defeat her, it's you."

_**January 1st, 2002. Midnight. Cerulean City.**_

"Please, Lily, have just _one_ glass," Daisy urged her sister, holding out the bottle of champagne to her. "It'll make you feel better, I swear."

Lily waved her off.

"No," she refused. "I just... no, I'm going to bed, too. You and Tracey said Violet and I should at least stay up for Midnight, and we've done that."

"It'll take the edge off," Daisy pressed. For the first time, Lily seemed genuinely irritated with her older sister.

"And so what?" she demanded. "It won't change anything. Our gym will still be in ruin, and our baby sister will still be dead. The new year won't change that. Getting drunk won't change that. Sure, I might forget for a few hours, but I'll just wake up tomorrow and everything will still be a nightmare, except I'll have a hangover." She then angrily turned on her heel and stormed inside their rented condominium, their impermanent place of stay until the gym could be rebuilt.

Daisy let out a frustrated cry before sinking into one of the outdoor wooden chairs. Her face fell into her hands, and she shook her head as she bit back her tears.

"Daisy..." Tracey sat beside her and gently placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. He intended to offer some sort of reassurance, but he found he had absolutely nothing to say.

"I hate this," Daisy mumbled, her voice watery. "Why am I doing this? Why did I let her go?"

_**January 1st, 2002. Snowpoint City.**_

There was something magical about seeing the light of the fireworks reflected in the white sheet of snow. It shined a burning red one moment, green another, and then blue after that. Candice had never noticed this before, because she had always been looking toward the sky in earlier years.

She hadn't been able to keep her head up in days, though.

_**January 1st, 2002. Midnight. Pewter City.**_

Solidad normally didn't indulge in alcohol. A glass of wine, and that was it. Tonight, however, she found herself refilling her wineglass two or three times, and she was starting to feel the effects.

Her cell phone buzzed. The coordinator furrowed her eyebrows together and set her glass aside on the table before picking the phone up. She had received a text message from Harley reading, "Happy New Year, bitch." It was marked with a smiley face, meaning he had used the term endearingly.

She felt a small laugh tear out of her mouth. Oh, he _had_ to be drunk.

Then again, so was she.

* * *

"_Happy New Year_!" one of Brock's younger siblings, Billy, screeched gleefully as he hugged his big brother's leg.

"Billy!" Yolanda, the older of Brock's younger sisters, admonished. She swept the sugar-charged toddler into her arms, gave Brock a sad but sympathetic smile, and carried the boy upstairs. Brock had spent most of his time alone since arriving back home; he knew he needed to put up an act, and was successful in doing so due, in part, to the fact that his emotional state _wasn't_ entirely an act.

He was worried. His family members who were old enough to understand this was supposedly a sensitive time for Brock merely misinterpreted his worry as grief. It almost seemed silly, though, to worry about Ash. He knew the young trainer was capable; moreover, he knew he was in good hands. With people like Misty, May, and Dawn—all people whom he knew, trusted, and loved—at Ash's side, what could possibly go wrong?

Brock didn't want to answer that question.

_**January 1st, 2002. Midnight. Veilstone City.**_

"2002," Maylene awed aloud as the fireworks erupted in the sky above the meteorites field. She and Reggie were situated on top of the roof of his home; Reggie, however, had been relatively quiet and fidgety the entire night, and Maylene suspected she knew the reason why. Casting him a careful glance, she asked in a more solemn tone, "Are you ready for the 4th?"

Reggie appeared surprised; he snapped his head up to look at her, but he smiled. She was dressed in her usual sweatpants and athletic formfitting shirt. He appreciated that, because it was all her.

"Yes," he said, "as long as I have you by my side."

"Oh stop." Maylene lightly punched him in the shoulder. "What a line."

"I'm serious." His nerves caused a surprise chuckle to emerge from his throat. "I... really feel like I could do anything with you around. Like _we_ could anything. And..."

Maylene's face contorted in confusion, baffled by his unusual behavior.

"Reggie... ?"

Reggie swallowed any doubt he had before saying, "That's why I'd like for you to stay with me for the rest of our lives." He reached into his pocket and pulled out that classical small black velvet box, and Maylene's eyes widened with the realization that she had completely misread his anxiety that night.

"Maylene, will you marry me?"

_**January 1st, 2002. Midnight. Striaton City.**_

Traditionally on New Year's, the Striaton triplets opened the doors of their restaurant/gym to anyone and everyone who wanted to celebrate the birth of a new year with them. The event had grown quite popular over the years, and now required days of preparation—setting up the decorations and cooking the massive amount of food, mostly—starting the day after Christmas.

This year, the doors were locked and the gym's windows were dark. Invitations weren't sent out. The decorations hadn't been retrieved from the attic. The kitchen was still a mess of broken dishes and failed chocolateering experiments.

Chili had shut himself in his room, and Cress was alone, counting down the seconds by himself on one hand and clutching the plane tickets to Kanto in the other.

_**January 1st, 2002. Midnight. Twinleaf Town.**_

"This is the first year Dawn isn't here to watch the fireworks with me," Johanna suddenly realized as the first crackle of green shimmered outside the window of her home. She and Palmer were alone at the empty dinner table, keeping themselves up with coffee and conversation.

"Same here with Barry and I," Palmer said after her thought about it for a moment. "Even on his journey, he always came home for Christmas and stayed for New Year's." Johanna nodded to acknowledge that she had heard him speak, but the distracted look in her eyes said that she hadn't really listened. Palmer reached out and gently covered her hand with his. She didn't seem to notice.

"They will come home, Johanna," he assured her. She sighed.

"I hope you're right."

_**January 1st, 2002. Midnight. Unknown location.**_

Giovanni was well awake when the sliding door opened and James, Jessie, and Meowth walked in, but that didn't stop him from being irritated since it was actually very late.

"What do you three want?" he demanded, turning on his heel. It took a moment for one of them to reply, as they seemed distracted—perhaps entranced—by the looming figure of a weak Mewtwo in the background. The great Pokémon's head hung limply at his chest, and his limbs were strung up and spread out in an invisible suspension; it looked as though he were sleeping.

"Sir," James began after snapping back into reality, "Dr. Zager sent us to report that he's had first successful test controlling a Pokémon using manipulated melodies from Meloetta's song."

"Which Pokémon?"

"Me," Meowth grumbled dejectedly.

"He believes he will need to do further research before implementing the sound frequencies into the headgear of the suit, however," Jessie added.

"Ah." Giovanni turned back toward his prize. "Good. Now that Lance has solved our first obstacle _for_ us, I'm not in any hurry. I do think I know what I'd like to do first when that suit's ready, though..."

Mewtwo's head snapped up and he glared at Giovanni, who merely smirked in response.

"It's been a while since I've been to the Orange Islands," he finished.

Mewtwo clenched his fists, but his head dropped back down again. Closing his eyes, he attempted to gather his thoughts, but found that everything was fuzzy and disorganized. When he attempted to make a connection, the result was just as indistinct and vague.

_**January 1st, 2002. Midnight. Unmarked territory.**_

_Are you alive?_

_Are you alive?_

The desperate words echoed somewhere in the back of Ash's mind, but he was too enchanted by the distant bursts of color in the sky to pay them any heed, much less notice they were even there. Although his feet were sore and his eyes were heavy with want for sleep, he was glad he was on that mountain, sitting among some of his most beloved friends in the world, with Pikachu snoozing on his lap despite the noise of the fireworks.

"Well, happy New Year, Ash," Misty said to him. Her voice sounded detached, though that was likely a result of the fact that she was tired, too.

He cast a sideways glance to his left, about to wish her the same, but felt an odd loss of words when he looked at her, as if they had simply evaporated off his tongue and vanished into thin air. Such had never happened to Ash before, especially around Misty, a girl with whom he had never had trouble talking (except when they were mad at each other; then they would bicker for hours on end, but even that came naturally). He'd caught her in a moment of red: the sparkle of a firework glowed in her face, and it matched her flaming red hair and made everything beautiful in a way it had never been before.

She raised her eyebrows and her two front teeth sank slightly into her smiling bottom lip to hold back a laugh. He realized he'd been staring, and doing so made her chuckle, probably because he looked stupid with his dumbfounded look on his face. For the first time, Ash suddenly felt very silly and shy.

"Yeah," he said, grinning, "you too."

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_A/N: This is just a short, extra collection of vignettes for your enjoyment. A full chapter will be up Saturday, as usual. Reviews are, as always, greatly appreciated._

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	14. XII: In Which Paul Stands Up For Ash

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Chapter XII: In Which Paul Stands Up For Ash

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_**January 4th, 2002. Early Morning. Unmarked territory.**_

_I know you're there... I can still feel you. Listen to me!_

Ash shifted slightly in his sleep, and his eyes cracked open. His mouth was dry, and his thoughts felt fuzzy and disjointed. 'What was that voice...?' he puzzled, barely awake. He glanced down at Pikachu, who was snuggled into his chest for warmth, and Ash wondered if he had been dreaming again. If so, then he knew he ought to tell Leaf and Gary.

What would he say, though? It wasn't even that remembrance had slipped away from him, as it had previous times; the memory simply did not exist now.

Misty was sleeping near him in a separate sleeping bag. Ash lolled his head to the side for a moment, watching her. She was totally at peace, and seeing her in such an ambient state drudged up that weird feeling he'd had on New Year's. Unsure of what to make of the oddity, he quickly looked away.

Seeing that all his companions were still asleep and that the sky was still a cold blue from lack of sunlight, he drifted off once again, forgetting that he'd ever woken up in the first place.

_**January 4th, 2002. Early Morning. Indigo** **Plateau.**_

Cynthia smoothed over the wrinkle in her black dress, noticing for the first time that it looked as though she had actually put on a little bit of weight. It wasn't to the point where anyone would suspect she was pregnant, but it certainly wasn't flattering either. She considered going through the closet again to see if there were any dresses that would conceal her abdomen a little better, but before she could, she heard a knock at the door.

"Come in," Cynthia said politely. She watched Lance slip in from the reflection in the mirror.

"Where's Steven?" the Indigo Champion asked, shutting the door behind him. Cynthia turned to face him.

"He left with Alder earlier to pick up Cilan's brothers at the airport," she explained. "They've never been to Kanto before. They're just boys, and neither of their parents are around, so..."

"I see," Lance nodded. "Well, Adalet is here to take you and Wallace down to the Pewter City area and the Battle Pyramid. You two should leave soon."

"What about you?"

"I'm not going," Lance stated plainly. "I need to stay here and continue working on the case. I just can't wrap my mind around how they could have afforded to abandon that lab beneath the Viridian City Gym."

"They're a gigantic crime organization. I'm sure they had a lot of illicit cash flow."

"Undoubtedly," Lance agreed, "but the numbers don't add up. Four years ago, the G-Men knew Team Rocket was in financial trouble. There's no way they would have thrown away those millions of dollars in Viridian and then have been able to build another base in Hoenn."

"My apologies," Cynthia began, folding her arms, "but shouldn't we be focused on figuring out where that Hoenn base is and shutting it down instead of trying to be Team Rocket's accountant?"

"That is our focus," Lance retorted. "You must understand my reasoning, though: That money had to come from somewhere. An investor, a company... We find that, then we find information."

"Cynthia?" Wallace peered inside the bedroom to interrupt the conversation. "Agent Adalet is waiting for us."

"I'll be there with you in a moment, Wallace," the Sinnoh Champion replied, looking past Lance and smiling at the Water Master. Wallace nodded and disappeared. Cynthia returned her attention to Lance.

"Well, hopefully we'll find something new soon," she said. "We're in trouble otherwise." Lance's lips tightened, and Cynthia adjusted her heels before brushing past him.

"Send my condolences to Brandon," Lance spoke up as she walked by.

Cynthia stopped in her tracks.

"I will."

_**January 4th, 2002. Morning. Unmarked Territory.**_

Drew winced instinctively when Cilan made the first clip with the tiny scissors, and the sudden motion caused the connoisseur to jump slightly in surprise. The Unovan then let out a relieved sigh when he realized nothing ill had befallen them, and he set the scissors down on the white handkerchief he had had laid out on the stump where he and the coordinator were set up.

"Try not to flinch when I'm using the scissors," Cilan advised calmly as he picked up the tweezers. "I'd hate to accidentally cut you and reopen the wound." He then used the tweezers to pull the first of the eleven stitches from Drew's temple. It didn't hurt, but Drew found the sensation of the suture moving underneath his skin odd. He hadn't been fully conscious when the Petalburg doctor initially closed the wound, so it felt like an entirely new experience.

Cilan moved on to the second stitch, and Drew was sure not to move this time. May and Iris were sitting nearby, making light conversation while also watching the near-surgical procedure with the hope nothing would go terribly wrong since they were barred from visiting a hospital. During the event, Paul wandered by and stopped to ask what they were doing.

"Having my stitches removed," Drew replied shortly as Cilan hit the midway point.

"It's been two weeks since Drew first got them," May added, "so it needed to be done."

Paul raised his eyebrows.

"Right... Well, what makes you qualified to remove stitches, connoisseur?"

Cilan smiled politely at the trainer before replying, "Oh, I really don't have any qualifications. But, my brother Chili once had stitches, and since he hates the doctor, Cress and I had to look up on the Internet how to remove them ourselves. Believe me, I'm taking every precaution to make sure Drew's wound doesn't reopen and get infected." He removed the last stitch as he said this and dabbed a clean cotton ball with a couple of drops of rubbing alcohol. He then pressed the ball against the healing cut, and Drew let out a loud hiss at the sudden burning pain.

"Mother-"

"-_Hey_!" Barry nearly tripped over his own feet as he ran toward the group of five. Cradled in his arms was Leaf's laptop, along with the various extensions that kept their connection to the Internet running and their IP address hidden. "Check this out! I just found out that today is supposed to be our official memorial, and they're actually gonna broadcast it live on TV!"

"Ohhh no." Drew shook his head as Cilan removed the cotton ball, now pink with blood, and disposed of it. "Don't you remember the last time we listened to news about our own deaths? We are _not_ having a repeat of Zoey."

"Yeah," Iris agreed. "We really shouldn't look into those kind of things." Barry scowled at them both.

"I wasn't suggesting we watch it or anything," he scoffed. "I just thought ya'll might be curious since it's being held at the Battle Pyramid."

"The _what_?" Paul's eyes widened slightly, and he seemed genuinely shocked.

"The Battle Pyramid is the the final location of the Kanto Battle Frontier and is headed by Brandon Blair, the Pyramid King. Defeating him earns you the Brave Symbol and a position as a-" Drew began before he was cut off.

"I know what the Battle Pyramid is, Frankenstein, _thank you._" Paul glared at the coordinator.

"_Hey_," Drew began, annoyed as he rose to his feet. "I got my stitches out, so you can't call me that anymore. What's the big deal about it being at the Battle Pyramid, anyway?"

"I can, and I will as long as you have that scar running up your face." Drew's hand instinctively went to his temple, and Cilan quickly admonished him not to touch it, lest it reopen. "As for the Battle Pyramid... that's none of your business." Paul then shoved his hands into his pockets and stormed away.

"Arceus, I hate him," Drew seethed after he was gone. Barry flared up in anger.

"How dare you speak such an abomination against Paul? I'm gonna fine you for that!" he said. Drew, however, ignored him as he turned to May.

"How bad is it, anyway?" he asked.

May blinked in surprise.

"How bad is what?" she asked.

"My scar."

"Oh..."

She tenderly brushed his bangs back to get a better look, and Cilan looked as though he were about to have a fit.

"It's a little red now, but that's probably because you just got them removed," she said reassuringly, offering him a smile. His cheeks suddenly flushed pink with the realization of how close she was, but he pressed his lips together and attempted to maintain his composure. "Your hair hides most of it, anyway."

"It'll fade with time, too," Iris added. "But, I can try to whip up a medicine that'll help it heal faster."

"That would be great," Drew mumbled in response, shaking off the blush. "Thank you, Iris."

"No problem!" Iris chirped. "And don't worry about Paul. Ash has told Cilan and myself about him before; it just seems to me he's anti-social and doesn't know how to talk to people."

"Right, right," Barry agreed, "he's just _misunderstood_."

"Well, at least somebody likes him," Drew sighed and shook his head. He then looked to Cilan, who was busy cleaning up the supplies he had used to remove his stitches. "By the way, thank you for helping me."

"Oh, it was nothing," Cilan said with a wave of his hand. "We'll just keep a close eye on the scar for a week or so to make sure it doesn't get infected." In the distance, they heard a call: It was time to get moving for the day.

_**January 4th, 2002. Late Morning. Battle Pyramid.**_

"There are an awful lot of people here," Maylene commented, clutching Reggie's arm tightly to maintain her balance as they made their way through the entrance of the Battle Pyramid. She had decided to wear heels to accompany her black dress that day, but being unaccustomed to the shoe type, she was finding some difficulty walking. She supposed she needed to practice for her wedding, though. That was probably one of the few significant life events for which she couldn't justify going barefoot, as she usually preferred to do.

The whole atmosphere of the place had changed. The stands had been pulled back, and the battlefield had been covered. Rather than the florescent lights hanging above, the arena was lit by candles and the natural light of the (rarely) open windows of the entire perimeter of the structure. Fourteen tables were set up in a large circle that encapsulated the entire area, and people had already inundated the place and begun leaving flowers, pictures, and other mementos at the tables.

Outside, several news vans were parked with reporters ready to jump on any mourners for comments. Reggie, himself, had been forced to make a small statement regarding his brother.

"It's tragic what's happened," he had said, drudging up as much emotion in his voice as possible. "He will be missed dearly."

"You meet a lot of people when you go on a journey," Reggie explained presently, "so it doesn't surprise me." They immediately went to Paul's designated table, and several of the mourners who were observing the individual memorial shied away to visit other memorials when they realized it was family who was approaching. Reggie attempted to catch their faces to see if he recognized any of them, but no one seemed familiar.

"Where do you suppose they are now?" Maylene asked in a low voice. "They have to be in Johto by now, wouldn't you think?"

"Probably, yes," Reggie agreed, though he was distracted as he wondered who could have possibly left all these flowers. Paul didn't have many friends, and the few people who could be considered candidates had tables of their own set up in the arena.

Reggie suddenly felt Maylene grip his arm tighter. Initially, he wrote it off as her losing balance with her shoes again, but when he looked up, he realized she was signaling him. Brandon was walking toward them.

"Maylene, could you give us a moment alone, please?" Reggie asked, attempting to maintain an even tone. She nodded and quickly left his side, wobbling slightly as she did, which briefly put a smile on the breeder's face. Brandon cleared his throat, and Reggie deadpanned once again.

"I didn't know you were seeing someone," the Pyramid King said.

"She's actually my fiancée," Reggie corrected. "Her name is Maylene. She's the gym leader of Veilstone. I expect you wouldn't know that, since you've never been there to see either myself or Paul."

"Can we talk?" Brandon asked. His firm expression remained unchanged, despite the bitter utterances Reggie made against him.

"I really don't want to."

"I suppose I figured that."

Reggie kept his head rigidly turned away, refusing to look his father directly in the eye.

"Why did you do this?" he asked. "The memorial, I mean. Why did you reach out to Cynthia?"

"Because you and Paul are my sons-"

"-Oh, _now_ we are." Reggie sounded mildly disgusted. "As nice as this is, do you honestly think it makes up for everything? Paul was 8-years-old when he lost Mom; I was 15. Do you know how that affected Paul? He became a different person than the child you and I knew before Mom committed suicide, and now he's gone completely. We needed you, and you weren't there, because you couldn't deal. Instead, you sent us as far away as possible, to another region, and made us change our name."

His tone remained scarily calm; even in anger, Reggie maintained his collected demeanor. It was a mark of the Blair-split-Rebolledo family. There was no raw emotion. Reggie had learned to cope by maintaining a positive attitude, hiding under a smile. Paul, on the other hand, shut all feeling down and kept it locked up behind a stoic face.

Brandon let out a long, shaky sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I had my reasons," he said. Emotion seeped through his voice, and he seemed genuinely upset.

"Well, I don't want to hear them."

"Reggie..."

"No," Reggie said, shaking his head. "I'm sorry. You're too late. Mom's gone, I don't want to see you again, and Paul is dead."

* * *

Maylene rubbed her ankle tenderly after it had rolled, cursing her own feelings of inadequacy. Be nominated and accepted as a gym leader over men twice her age? Done. Spar with an immensely powerful Lucario on a near-daily basis? Tougher, but she can still keep up. Walk in heels? Impossible.

She passed by several of the other tables, giving them a cursory viewing as she did; she was sure to pause a little longer at Dawn's and Ash's memorial but kept moving nevertheless. She had a feeling Reggie would become upset with Brandon and want to leave as soon as possible after they finished talking, with which she was fine. It was trying to walk among all these grieving parents, friends, and acquaintances and _not_ comfort them with the knowledge that those who were being honored were actually alive.

"Maylene?" The Veilstone Gym Leader turned to find herself face-to-face with Candice, the Snowpoint Gym Leader. Her breath caught. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I... My fiancé's younger brother, Paul..."

Candice blinked.

"Paul Rebolledo? You're engaged to Reggie?"

Maylene nodded and unconsciously touched the diamond ring on her finger.

"Well, congratulations... I mean..." She faltered, unsure of how she should react. "I'm also sorry about Paul..."

"Thank you," Maylene swept in, trying to assure the Ice-type trainer she wasn't embarrassing herself. "I'll give Reggie your condolences. What are you... ?"

She trailed off, but Candice understood the question.

"Zoey is—was—my best friend." Her voice cracked slightly, and Maylene wanted to leave right then and there. She and Candice didn't know each other too well; they were merely associated as gym leaders under the same Champion, and they had met once last year at a conference Cynthia had organized. They had gotten along well, though, and it was difficult for Maylene to see the upbeat and ever-smiling Candice she remembered look so broken.

"Well, anyway," Candice continued, "I'll let you be on your way."

"Sure, sure..." Maylene stood still as she watched Candice go, and she wondered for how long she would have to keep this secret.

* * *

"I don't know why we came," Harley groused as he and Solidad worked their way through the ever-increasing crowd of people. "This place is just depressing. Black doesn't suit you, and it certainly doesn't suit me."

"You didn't have to come," Solidad reminded him.

"Of course I did," Harley said flippantly. "You'd judge me if I didn't."

"I wouldn't," Solidad stated plainly. "I would only be miffed if..."

"...this wasn't real?"

"Well, don't say it so loudly." Solidad shifted her eyes to a small group of three by the wayside. "Do you see the two boys with the young woman over there? I'm fairly confident those are Cilan's brothers, talking with Professor Juniper of the Unova region. She's famous for her studies in the origin of Pokémon."

"Your point?"

"Just a small reminder to try to be sensitive to the fact that there are people that don't know."

"That those kids are alive?"

"_Harley_!"

"Sorry," the male coordinator replied, though he hardly sounded apologetic. "I suppose I'm just put off by the principle of the whole thing."

"Oh, so you have principles?" Solidad jested. "I didn't know."

"Ha ha, very funny," Harley droned. "Yes. Being here, it seems unnaturally cruel to me to put all these people through this emotional roller coaster. Look back at those two brothers. You see the one with the red hair? Look at his eyes. He's probably been crying for days. You don't think the same way?"

Solidad hesitated.

"Well..."

"Oh ho ho!" Harley suddenly seemed quite pleased with himself. "Let it be known that for this first time in history, I've actually made Solidad Natochenny second-guess her own moral standing rather than the other way around. This truly is an accomplishment."

"Don't get used to it." Solidad brushed her bangs out of her face. "Really, though, I trust that Lance and Cynthia and the other Champions know what they're doing."

"A blind trust." Harley smirked. "Just realize you've placed your faith, which is highly valuable I might add, into a bunch of liars."

"Isn't Wallace your cousin?"

"As much as I dearly love him," Harley began with a dramatic hand over his heart, "he is involved in a pretty shady organization."

"The G-Men," she stated dryly.

"Oh Solidad, I didn't know you were an apologist."

"And I didn't know you were one to subscribe to conspiracy theories."

"Of course I am, we're in the middle of one."

Solidad was tempted to roll her eyes and let out a small chuckle, but her attention was diverted when she caught sight of a familiar shade of green in the waves of people. She whipped her head around to try and look for the color she had seen, but it had disappeared. Harley appeared bemused by her odd behavior.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"For a moment, I thought I saw Drew..."

"Geez, you miss him worse than I thought."

Solidad ignored his comment as she gently pressed her hand against his wrist and said, "Wait here."

She left him behind in a hurry, weaving in and out of people as she sought after that person whom she had seen. She found him exactly where she thought he would: Standing quietly in front of Drew's memorial, his head hanging low, and his hands clasped together behind him.

Solidad slowly approached him and came to stand at his side. She observed the memorial for a long moment before casting the man an inconspicuous glance, observing his features: his sharp emerald eyes, loose grassy hair, a firm jawline that was tense when thinking. He hadn't noticed her presence.

She cleared her throat.

"Sir," she began, but she nearly lost her confidence when he looked at her and she was presented with the full striking resemblance.

"My name is Solidad," she continued after a moment. "I knew your son very well."

_**July 24th, 1997. Afternoon. Slateport City.**_

At 16 years old, Solidad was coming into her own as a coordinator, though she humbly would deny her talent when others would attempt to saturate her with praise for her obvious skill and connection with Pokémon. Some would say it was a shame she didn't take on the Pokémon League Challenge. She had the potential to become the next Champion, but Solidad wasn't particularly interested in politics.

It was the beginning of the coordinating season in Hoenn, and thus far, Solidad had won every single contest she had entered, which only prompted more compliments from fans and judges (and her main rival, Harley, though it was difficult to tell whether he was being sarcastic or sincere). By then, it had become a question of who would be the first to earn their five ribbons for the Hoenn Grand Festival that year: herself or three-time Top Coordinator Robert Schemmel. It had also become a question of whether Robert would be upset that year at the festival, though Solidad already knew she needed more refinement in her practice if she ever wanted to dethrone him.

Today, however, she was met with a challenge that nearly broke her win streak. A boy and his Roselia had fought one of the toughest battles in which she had ever participated. He fascinated her; he was so young and yet so impeccably talented. She had ultimately managed to come out on top, but disappointment was natural after a loss, and she could see the tears in his and Roselia's after the clock ran out and she was declared the winner.

He left the battlefield almost immediately, and after she received her fourth ribbon, she resolved to meet him, perhaps to try to take the sting out of the loss. She felt bad about making him cry, and she wanted to at least put them on equal ground.

She hurried backstage and was relieved to find that he hadn't left yet. He had put Roselia back in her Pokéball and was nearly finished packing up.

"Hello," she greeted warmly as she approached him. He seemed to be caught off-guard by her sudden arrival. His tears had dried, but his eyes were still slightly pink from the salt.

"Hi..." he replied warily.

"It's Andrew, right?"

"Just Drew."

"I see." She could tell he was not particularly keen in talking to her, but she pressed on. "I just wanted to let you know that I think you and your Roselia make an incredible team. It was a great pleasure to battle you today."

_That_ seemed to loosen him up.

"Thanks," he said. There was the tiniest hint of a satisfied smirk on his face. "You and your Lapras were pretty great, too."

"Thank you." She tilted her head. "How long have you been training your Roselia?"

"Um," Drew hesitated. "Well, I've raised her since she was a Budew. But, we haven't actually been out long. This was our first contest."

"Your... your first?" Solidad was stunned.

"Yeah."

"How old are you?"

"10."

"10!" Solidad seemed genuinely shocked now. "Wow, that's..."

"What?" Drew sounded suspicious again. She shook her head and offered him a smile.

"It's... very, very rare for a first-time coordinator to make it to the final round of a contest, much less past the appeals round," she explained. "I'm impressed."

"Impressed? Why? I lost."

"It's not all about winning or losing."

"Right... Well, it was nice meeting you..."

"Solidad," she answered for him, realizing she had failed to properly introduce herself.

"Solidad," he finished. He slung his bag over his shoulder. "See you around."

She let him pass by her wordlessly, thinking that was the end of that. Yet, something felt wrong; she didn't want to let him leave. It was strange, considering that she wasn't a pushy person and he obviously didn't want to stick around with her any longer. Nevertheless, she forced herself to call out, "Wait!"

He stopped.

"Would you..." she continued tentatively, "... like to get a cup of coffee?"

_**January 4th, 2002. Noon. Pewter City.**_

Solidad felt like she had been thrust 20 years into the future, and that right now she was sitting across from a middle-aged Drew Hayden, tired by the challenges of adulthood but persevering to find success in great things, as he always did. This was a future she had subconsciously drummed up between them, that by then they would both be married (he to May, of course, herself to... well, the jury's still out on that one) and raising a couple of kids. By then, they would have several Ribbon Cups under their belt and be training the next generation of Top Coordinators, yet they would still find the time every Sunday to head over to the local coffee shop for a drink or two.

Of course, this was just a silly fantasy that had formed in her head as she shared a table for two in this small Pewter City café with a man who looked exactly like his son. His name was Christopher, or just Chris.

"How did you and Andrew meet?" he asked before pressing his steaming mug of coffee—black, no sugar or cream—to his lips.

"We're both coordinators," Solidad answered plainly. "Rivals, I suppose you could say. I was his final opponent in his first contest. We became very close over time, though."

"Ah, right, he always wanted to do contests," Chris mused. A long pause followed, and Solidad waited patiently as he struggled to get out the next question, "Did he... ever mention me?"

She knew this one was coming. She tried to smile, but the edge of her lip merely twitched before falling to an indifferent line.

"Yes," she nodded.

"What did he say?"

"Not much, actually," she admitted. "That's actually why I was so interested in meeting you, Mr. Hayden."

"Hayden?" The inquiry threw Solidad off, and she looked at him strangely. His brow was furrowed in thought, and his eyes were narrow, despite the dark lines of sleeplessness drawn below them. It would be inappropriate to describe his expression as confused, though there really was no other word for it. He seemed to be in a constant state of thinking, analyzing, and it showed in his face. It was another trait he and his son shared.

"Hayden," she pressed, emphasizing the word. "Drew Hayden is your son ... ?"

"Ah, right." Chris suddenly waved his hand dismissively, as if he had remembered something. A trace of suspicion crossed Solidad's mind, but she quickly brushed it away. She knew this was, without a doubt, Drew's father. There was no other way. They were the splitting image of each other.

"I'm not sure what I could tell you: Andrew and I were not close," Chris continued.

"I figured as much. Running away from home doesn't speak of a happy family life." Solidad then looked up at the father and quickly added, "I'm sorry. That was awful of me to say. Truthfully, I've been predisposed to dislike you, but I'm trying to withhold judgement."

Chris frowned.

"I suppose that's Andrew's working," he said.

"Yes," Solidad dragged out the word slowly, tentatively.

"What's your opinion thus far?"

"Without my early biases? I can't say." Solidad lightly touched her coffee mug, now cold with emptiness.

"I propose a trade-off then." Solidad looked at him curiously; he had her attention. He continued, "I gather you wanted to talk to me because you want to know what happened between Andrew and myself—my side of the story. Am I right?" Solidad nodded.

"Very well," Chris said, leaning back in his chair slightly. "So... if you tell me about Andrew—your Drew—then I will tell you about what happened the night he left La Rousse." Solidad breathed out. He more than had her attention now.

"All right," she agreed. "I'm not sure where to start, though. You've... missed a lot."

"I suppose we're both at a loss, then." Initially, Solidad was confused by what he meant by that; then she realized he was referring to the fact that Drew was dead. (Supposed to be, anyway.) With his life cut short, they would be missing a lot more.

"Right." Solidad glanced down, gathering her thoughts. "Well, I suppose I could start with his coordinating."

"How was he?"

"Incredible," she replied with a small chuckle. "He had a natural talent for it. It's actually a real shame you never..."

"... went out to see him?"

"Yes." Solidad ducked her head slightly, suddenly feeling guilty for bringing it up. "Really, though. I was actually half-expecting him to become the Top Coordinator at the Johto Grand Festival this year."

"The Johto Grand Festival!" Chris breathed in sharply.

"He had all five of his ribbons," Solidad elaborated. "He would've participated already if it weren't for the festival being pushed back. Oh, sorry-"

"-I know about the festival being pushed back," Chris interjected.

"You do?" Solidad's head perked up slightly. That struck her as odd; she knew the delay had been headlining news across all the regions, but for someone who didn't follow contests closely enough to know his own son participated in them...

"Yes. I-" He suddenly shook his head and raked his fingers through his hair, obviously troubled. "I-I've just remembered I've got somewhere to be."

He stood up abruptly, reaching into his wallet and laying a $20 dollar bill on the table.

"It was a pleasure meeting you. I'm sorry we couldn't talk longer," he mumbled before hurrying out of the café.

"Wait, Mr. Hayden!" Solidad's head whirled as she grabbed her bag and went after him. She stumbled in her rush, however, and he had already disappeared in the throng of people once she made it outside.

She stood motionless for a long moment, utterly baffled, perhaps even a little bit angry, as she became lost in the crowd as well.

_**January 4th, 2002. Afternoon. Unknown location.**_

_"No, no questions please," the graying, brown-haired woman sniffled in response to an inquiry by a reporter. "You must understand, my son... We ask for privacy at this time."_

_"Of course, Ms. Hudson."_

Giovanni turned the television off, leaving the mother's cries echoing in the room as Dr. Zager, Jessie, James, and Meowth entered through the double doors. In Dr. Zager's hands was Mewtwo's helmet. The renovations had been completed. Giovanni smirked as he rose to his feet to greet the doctor.

"How does it work?" he asked with a falsely pleasant tone.

"This remote," Dr. Zager began, pulling the said object out of his lab coat's pocket, "activates the speakers embedded near the earpieces of the helmet. It plays a sort of high-pitched song—manipulated from Meloetta's voice, as you know—that should render Mewtwo subject to our control. The remote also allows us to control the intensity of the song; the higher the intensity, the more effective the control. The unfortunate side effect, however, is that as the intensity increases, Mewtwo's power will decrease. Meloetta's song is meant to have a calming effect. It's a bug I couldn't completely work out of the system."

Mewtwo listened to the explanation calmly. He had resisted Giovanni's control for nearly three weeks now, and though his will had been snatched out from underneath him in times of weakness—when he had been forced to attack those children—he still had managed to come to his senses long enough to stop and flee (before, unfortunately, being recaptured each time). Still, with his health rapidly declining from the constant fight back and the new changes to the suit...

Clenching his fists, he attempted to establish a connection for the umpteenth time. The world around him faded out, and he found himself elsewhere, in another soul. The scene was fuzzy and difficult to make out; everything was bright and colorful, and Mewtwo realized that the boy was awake, making the task all the more difficult. Only in unconsciousness was he ever able to make an impact, however small.

"_Ash? Are you OK_?" The voice of that redheaded companion of his warbled and sounded watery, though this was a result of the the weak connection.

"_Yeah, yeah. I just... got a headache all of a sudden._" The boy shook his head, and Mewtwo was thrown out and sent back to his own present.

"So it's about finding balance," Giovanni said.

"Exactly."

"Well, let's give it a test then."

Suddenly, a true sense of panic set in. They'd never find him. He couldn't even give them the necessary guidance, especially if he lost himself to Giovanni. He reached into the depths of his memory, recalling the face of another boy whom he had met long before the trainer from Pallet Town. His head lowered again.

"Put it on him," Giovanni ordered James.

"Uh, yes, sir," James stammered before taking the helmet from Dr. Zager. Mewtwo opened his eyes again, noticing the approaching grunt.

"_No!_" A surprise burst of psychic power from within his weakened form lashed out, blowing James back. "I cannot let you touch me—not yet."

"Not yet?" Meowth parroted. Giovanni gritted his teeth.

"Don't give up! Get it on him before he can finish whatever he's doing!" he ordered.

Another wave of psychic energy sprung from Mewtwo, shattering the suspension that held him prisoner. He immediately dropped to his knees—he hadn't realized how truly weak he was—but in himself he found a last reserve of his incredible power, which, though he knew it would not save himself here in this moment, could at least give him the time needed to set the field in his favor.

"Persian," Giovanni called his loyal cat-like Pokémon to his side. "Use Shadow Claw!"

With a trill war cry and claws blazing purple, Persian himself launched at Mewtwo. Mewtwo sent the Pokémon back with Counter, but he was very soon quickly outnumbered: He found himself facing also a Seviper, a Yamask, and a Carracosta. He was cornered, but this was not the end. No, it was far from it.

Gathering every last bit of himself as he rose to his feet, Mewtwo sent his final and most powerful message.

_**January 4th, 2002. Afternoon. Unmarked territory.**_

The excruciating pain overtook Ash suddenly, and he screamed as he collapsed to the ground, shaking and clutching his head. Pikachu cried out in a concern for his trainer, and the dramatic scene caught everyone completely off-guard.

"Dear Arceus." Misty's voice shook with horror as she fell to Ash's side while the others rallied around them. She reached out to grab his hand to pull it away from his head and calm him, but she was quickly deterred.

"No, no!" Trip admonished her harshly, dropping to a knee on the other side of Ash. "If he's having a seizure, then you're not supposed to restrain him. You could hurt him or yourself."

"Ash doesn't have epilepsy!" Dawn retorted, though the waver in her voice suggested she wasn't entirely sure of anything herself.

"Well, we shouldn't take any risks," Trip fought back. "Somebody, get something soft to prop his head up on—a pillow, a blanket, a sleeping bag, anything. Misty, help me turn him on his back."

As soon as he finished speaking, however, Ash's spastic movements suddenly halted, leaving as quickly as they came. The boy fell motionless, and there was sickening silence left in the air. Misty quickly reached around and searched for his pulse.

"He's fine. He's breathing," she said, relieved once she had found it, thumping steadily under his skin. Everyone else seemed relieved, too. Pikachu approached his trainer cautiously and gently licked his face.

Ash's eyes opened, and Misty was taken with how wide his pupils were—the familiar pools of brown had disappeared almost completely and been replaced with dark abysses. He sat up abruptly, and Misty backed off. His breathing was heavy, labored, and his head swayed slightly with apparent dizziness.

"Does anyone have some water?" Cilan questioned, breaking the brief spell of silence. "Perhaps this was onset by dehydration." Ash looked at him strangely, and Cilan became unnerved by the total lack of emotion in his eyes. Gary was prepared and tried to hand Ash a water bottle, but he refused to take it; he didn't even notice it was being offered to him. Gary's gaze narrowed.

"What did you see?" he asked calmly, perceptively. Leaf sent Gary an appalled look, but the question acted as a trigger for Ash. His pupils suddenly contracted and, snapping out of his dream-like state, he gasped out:

"Mewtwo!" He tried to stand.

"Ash, Ash-!" Misty cried out, trying to keep him down. Ash ignored her as he staggered to his feet, but he stumbled and was caught by Barry and Zoey.

"You need to calm down," Zoey chastised, shouldering half of his weight, "and listen to Misty and _sit_." The two guided Ash to a nearby log, and Misty wedged herself in to sit beside him. She wrapped her arms firmly around his frame to keep him from toppling over. This dragged Ash further back into reality, and he glanced at her with wide eyes before quickly looking away again.

Gary exchanged a quick gaze with Leaf, and she furrowed her eyebrows at him. He then strolled over to Ash and met him at his level.

"Water?" he offered for a second time, now that Ash seemed more mentally present.

"Yeah." Ash nodded quickly as he gratefully accepted the bottle. "Thanks." He seemed to have difficulty concentrating, however, as he was unable to unscrew the cap. Misty had to jump in and help him out. Once Ash had taken his first drink, Gary continued:

"So, what about Mewtwo?" He went straight to the point, and Leaf sent him another irritated glance. She was surprised (and pleased), though, when Iris stepped up to protest.

"Hey, give him a moment," the Dragon-type trainer bristled. "He's just had a..." Her voice suddenly trailed off, unsure of what to call it.

"... a vision?" Gary looked to Ash for confirmation. Ash wiped his mouth; though he had finished off the entire water bottle, his throat still felt very dry. It certainly didn't help that his head was still pounding and that his mind felt so jumbled up that he thought he might be sick, either.

"I... I guess so," he hesitated. "Something like that."

"What did you see?" Gary repeated his earlier question. Ash closed his eyes, attempting to organize his thoughts.

"Well... I..." he began finally, "I... actually think I was seeing things through Mewtwo's eyes. I mean, I think I've always been seeing things through his eyes, but this is the first time I could, y'know, remember."

"Where was he?" Leaf asked, unable to resist the temptation. Gary looked at her smugly, but she pretended not to see him.

"I don't know," Ash confessed. "I don't think Mewtwo's sure either. But he's hurt. I mean, really, _really_ hurt. He was in the middle of a battle with four other Pokémon, but he knew he was going to lose. I heard him say it in his thoughts. And then he showed me something." He stopped, and his gaze grew distant.

"Showed you..." Drew prompted, gesturing with his hand, "... what?"

"It gets kinda confusing from there," Ash explained. "I was suddenly at Mt. Silver. At least, I'm pretty sure it's Mt. Silver, 'cause I saw the stadium for the Silver Conference, too. But everything was empty, and it was cold and snowy. Anyway, I was hiking up Mt. Silver and saying the mountain's name over and over again—I don't know why, I just was—and then I saw someone. Another trainer, with really red hair and grey eyes. He turned around to talk to me, but he spoke with Mewtwo's voice, and he told me it was really important I meet him. It ended there."

"You're remembering this a lot better than the dreams," Ritchie commented once Ash had finished. The raven-haired trainer shrugged.

"It was _very_ vivid," he said. "Everything else has just been kind of ... hazy."

"Maybe Mewtwo felt this was so important that he didn't want you to forget?" May suggested. "It certainly _looked_ vivid, though. Gosh, Ash, you scared us so much!"

Ash rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and apologized for making her and everyone else worry. Leaf bit her lip nervously, thinking. Gary was watching her carefully, of which she was well-aware.

"So, what now?" Kenny asked, folding his arms.

"Well, we have to go to Mt. Silver of course!" Dawn scoffed. "Right, Ash?"

Ash nodded.

"Right," he agreed. "It can't be too far away, right? We're already in Johto."

"No, I'm sorry," Leaf suddenly cut in, gleaning the attention of the fourteen other trainers. "It's too risky, and Clair is expecting us soon. Ash, I'll have you write down what you saw, and we'll hurry to Dragon's Den. We can be there in as little as three days if we pick up our pace. I'll then deliver this information to Lance, and he'll take care of it."

"Are you _kidding_ me?"

Leaf had completely expected Gary or Ash to fight back, and she had mentally prepared herself to retaliate. Gary had been waiting for this moment to happen, and Ash was undoubtedly determined to follow the promptings of his supposed vision, which was why she was completely floored when the words of indignation came not from either of the Pallet Town trainers, but Paul. Everyone else seemed equally surprised, too.

"Paul?" Leaf maintained an even tone, refusing to let her shock sharpen her voice. The Veilstone trainer, who had been kneeling near Ash to hear him speak, slowly rose to his feet and faced her head on.

"Didn't you listen to him at all? In his... vision," he said the word carefully, sounding a little unsure, "the other trainer said it was important Ash meet him. Not Lance."

"This isn't Ash's responsibility," Leaf retorted. "Lance and the G-Men will find Giovanni and save Mewtwo."

"I'm sure you and Lance would like to think that, but let's talk about the big Donphan in the room: Ash _is_ the Chosen One, Lance _isn't_," Paul argued back.

Dawn exhaled quickly, unable to believe what she was hearing. Ash looked at Paul strangely, amazed his old rival was saying this—defending him!

"You don't actually believe that," Leaf accused. "You were the one who treated my theory about Ash and the Shamouti prophecy as trivial that first night in Pallet." _Now_ her voice was sharp.

"Why wouldn't he believe?" Gary jumped in. "Don't you?"

"Shut up, Gary," she snapped. "You don't believe it either."

"Wait, wait... what?" Ash suddenly interjected, shaking his head. He was still too dazed to fully grasp the situation, but he was baffled and upset he had apparently become a point of contention. "You guys are fighting over this? When did this become a fight?"

"The night you had that dream, it did," Paul answered, though his eyes never left Leaf. She folded her arms and glared back at him.

"What do you mean?" Ash continued. Paul broke eye contact with Leaf to look at his old rival.

"Look," he began tersely, "I don't know if I actually believe you're the Chosen One or not. But, after you had that dream that led us straight to finding out that armored Pokémon was Mewtwo... I started to wonder. We all started to wonder. If anyone here says otherwise, they're lying. Am I right?" He then passed his gaze over the other twelve trainers, who all responded with silence—a guilty affirmation.

"And now with this..." Paul faced Leaf again. "... it should be clear that we should follow Ash's lead. If he says we need to go to Mt. Silver, then we need to go to Mt. Silver."

Leaf sucked in a frustrated breath.

"No," she repeated.

"Well, we don't have to listen to you," Paul dismissed. "You're outnumbered fourteen to one."

"Don't test me, Paul."

"Consider yourself being _tested_," he replied coldly. She tilted her head slightly, and he continued, "How about this: You and I have a battle right here, right now. If I win, we go to Mt. Silver. If you win, we'll all shut up and follow you to Dragon's Den."

"Why would I agree to that?" Leaf rolled her eyes.

"Lance presumably was OK with putting you in charge because you're a strong, smart trainer. If I can prove myself a better trainer than you, well..."

Gary shook his head, mumbling under his breath, "No way she'll-"

"-Fine!" Leaf huffed as she retrieved a Pokéball from her waist, catching Gary by surprise. "My terms, though: We don't have a lot of time to waste, so it'll just be one on one. No exchanges allowed, obviously. First trainer whose Pokémon is unable to battle, loses." Paul smirked.

"Ladies first."

_**January 4th, 2002. Afternoon. Battle Pyramid.**_

The crowd had begun to thin out as the afternoon went on, for which Cynthia was thankful. It had already been a long day, and it wasn't even 2 p.m. yet. With the nasty stares she and Wallace and Alder had received, it was no wonder Lance didn't want to come.

"I'm awfully sorry people have been rude to you," Steven commented, seeing another pair of judgmental eyes pass over his wife. "This I don't miss."

"I expected it," Cynthia confessed, "and in a roundabout way, I'm glad it's happening. This is exactly why the G-Men took the fall. The more the general public hates us, the more convincing our story appears to Team Rocket."

She folded her arms over her lower abdomen.

"I'm going to have to start covering up better," she went on, changing the subject.

"Why?" Steven inquired.

"I'll be _demonized_ once it starts becoming more obvious that we're having a baby," she explained. "To be responsible for the lives of fourteen other parents' children, and then to have one of my own? I'd like to come out of this mess with some sense of respect."

"People will always respect you," he said. "To be honest, Lance's head is more at stake than anyone's. This happened in _his_ region under _his_ division because of a Kanto-born crime organization."

Cynthia lowered her eyelids.

"Right..."

"Steven!"

The couple turned upon his name being called, and they found that Norman and Caroline were approaching. Max was trailing behind them.

"Norman, good to see you're here," Steven greeted affably. "How have you all been holding up?"

"Just all right," Caroline replied with a subdued smile. Her arm was linked with her husband's. "I was speaking to Delia and Johanna earlier. I think we're all thankful for the fact that we live in small towns, so the attention hasn't been too overwhelming. But, today, being here, it's been exhausting."

"I can empathize," Cynthia said with an understanding nod. "Was there something you needed from us?"

Caroline seemed to hesitate.

"Well... I actually was curious as to whether..." she began tentatively.

"Not yet," Steven answered, understanding her question. "We would have received word from Clair. We expect to hear from her in a couple of days, though."

"Oh, I see." Caroline had trouble concealing the disappointment in her voice. "Thank you."

Meanwhile, Max stood by awkwardly squirming as an older couple passed by them, giving the family a sympathetic look.

"C'mon, Mom, let's go," he groaned. "It's weird having all these people watch us pitifully like we're some charity case."

"All right, sorry," Caroline agreed. "We'll go back to the hotel." She and Max started to leave, but Norman broke away from her.

"I'll be with you in a moment," he told his wife. "Wait for me outside." She nodded, and he turned back to Cynthia and Steven.

"Norman?" Steven inquired once they were alone.

The gym leader inhaled deeply before asking in a low voice, "_I_ wanted to know whether you were any closer to finding Giovanni."

"We've found information, yes," Steven affirmed.

"Good, good," Norman mused. "You see, I... you must understand; this is my daughter."

"We are acutely aware, Mr. Maple," Cynthia assured him. "Although we're projecting incompetency in the public eye, no ill will befall May. Clair will see to that. And as long as Giovanni doesn't suspect anything..."

"Nevertheless, I want to help," Norman continued. "I don't whether Wallace is going to reopen Hoenn gyms or not, but even so, to keep the appearance of mourning, I'll likely keep it closed anyway. I don't want to sit on my hands and wait, though. I know there probably isn't much I can do now, but..."

"But?" Steven gently pressed.

"... We all know there's a storm coming. It's unclear what Giovanni's planning, but I imagine if he's got that Pokémon that attacked my family at his command, then it's going to be bad. When disaster does break out, I want to be there on the front line. I know I'm not the only one."

Steven pressed his lips together, tempted.

"It's not my call," he said plainly. Although his expression didn't show it, Cynthia realized—they both did—the full loss that came with Steven no longer being a Champion.

"But it is mine," Cynthia cleared her throat. "We'll keep you in mind, Mr. Maple."

"Thank you, Mrs. Stone," Norman replied. He shook both of their hands and left to find his family. Once he was gone, Cynthia sighed and massaged her temples in frustration.

"Everything OK, Cyndi?" Steven asked with concern. Her hands dropped to her side.

"I just hope Lance has something more to go off of by the time we get back," she said.

_**January 4th, 2002. Afternoon. Indigo Plateau.**_

"Sir," Lance heard Agent Adalet's voice chime in from the radio on his desk, "there is someone here to see you."

''I'm busy right now," Lance replied, continuing his work without pause. He was at his computer, and he had a mess of papers spilling from every direction, including the Team Rocket Hoenn blueprint spread out in front of him.

"He says it's important."

"I'm sure it is."

"He insists."

"Office hours are closed indefinitely, until the Team Rocket organization is crippled. Tell him to come back in several months."

"He's come awfully far."

"From where?"

"Opelucid City."

Lance finally stopped, his pen slipping through his fingers as his mouth formed an 'O' shape.

"All right. Send him in," the Indigo Champion finally agreed. Lance attempted to straighten his workspace in the few minutes before his guest arrived, but he only managed to make everything seem more disorganized than previous. The door opened, and Lance stopped.

"Hello," he began, rising to his feet to greet his visitor, "father."

Drayden slid the door behind him shut.

"What brings you here?" Lance asked. "I expected you would be at the memorial."

"I was," Drayden conceded, "but when I found out from Alder that you weren't there, I made the trip up here."

"You still didn't answer my question."

An invisible smile twitched beneath Drayden's snowy beard, and Lance only knew of its presence because he had learned to read his expressions years earlier.

"I came to ask about my student," the gym leader said, "but, please, save me the explanation of how she died in your beautifully orchestrated bus accident, as well-rehearsed as I'm sure it is. I have to say it's not the best cover-up the G-Men has ever devised. You're lucky Wallace is such a fantastic public speaker. His speech at the press conference nearly had _me_ convinced."

Lance frowned.

"All right, yes, she's alive," he sighed, "along with the rest of them. How did you know?"

"I raised you," Drayden said plainly. "I know when you're telling a lie. You wouldn't damn your own organization unless you wanted to. Where is she?"

"On her way to Dragon's Den with Leaf. Clair is going to look after them," Lance answered dully. "Please don't interfere. Iris needs to stay put."

"I wouldn't dream of it." Drayden pulled a chair up to Lance's desk, and Lance sat down so they could be on level with each other. "Just keeping tabs. I care about my students as though they were my own children."

"I know."

"I hope you realize it's in your best interests to keep Iris safe," Drayden continued.

"It's actually in Leaf's," Lance corrected.

"_Ah_," Drayden mused. "I always suspected you fancied her as your replacement. She's impressionable; she's just what you'd want. Already, though? You're not even 30. Traditionally, Champions hold on to their title well into their golden years. Alder's getting older, so of course there needs to be someone in line in Unova, but you..."

"I'm tired," Lance mumbled. "Steven grew tired too, and that's why he gave it up to Wallace. I think he regrets it now, with Team Rocket back on the scene."

"Steven must still be around," Drayden pointed out. "He's married to Cynthia."

"Yes, he's still around," Lance said, "but it's different. He and Cynthia are like-minded, but she is certainly not his puppet."

"She shouldn't be. Making pawns of people is not a good practice. You would do well to learn that."

"Cynthia's just difficult sometimes, that's all," Lance groused, irritated by the criticism.

"You find anyone who disagrees with you difficult," Drayden said. "Alder, Wallace, Cynthia—when did being a Champion become so political?"

"It has to be," Lance answered, though he knew the question was rhetorical.

"Well, I didn't come here to discuss politics." Drayden waved his hand. "When will Iris be back?"

"When Team Rocket is finished," Lance stated plainly.

"When will Leaf be back?"

Lance's expression deadpanned as he returned to his computer, resuming his work.

"Soon."

Sensing his son's uneasiness, Drayden asked, "Are you so sure?"

_**January 4th, 2002. Afternoon. Unmarked Territory.**_

"I literally can't believe this," Dawn said, pressing her hands to her lips. "I must be dreaming. This can't be happening."

"What are you _rambling_ about?" Trip grumbled. He, along with Dawn and the other trainers, was waiting on the sidelines, watching Leaf and Paul as they readied themselves for battle. Ash's water bottle had been refilled and he was drinking from it once again, trying to recover. He had been relatively silent for the past several minutes, offering no real verbal reaction to Paul standing up for him.

"You don't understand, Trip," Dawn persisted. "Paul and Ash don't exactly get along. This is totally out of left field."

"Look, this is basic stuff," Trip said. "Paul hit the nail on the head. Personal biases aside, if you're not wondering, you're kidding yourself."

"Well, let's just hope Paul manages to pull this off," Ritchie commented. "Since it's only one on one, there's no room for mistakes."

"Paul doesn't make mistakes," Barry scoffed. "Trust me, he'll make short work of Leaf! He's one of the greatest trainers in the world."

"Don't be too sure of that," Gary interjected, and Barry looked offended that his opinion was being contested. "What? I'm cheering for Paul in this too, but Leaf's no pushover. Even if she is just Lance's pet, she's still a G-Men agent, and she's got to have _some_ talent to back up that attitude."

"Gary's right," Ash spoke up for the first time, capturing the attention of his peers. "This isn't going be an easy battle." Cilan watched the boy for a long moment before rising to his feet and calling out:

"Paul! Miss Leaf! I could be a referee, if you wouldn't mind," he offered.

"Thanks, but no thanks, Cilan," Leaf rejected him without a second thought, and Paul looked at her warily. She continued, "No offense, but I know you'll be rooting for Paul, and I'd prefer to keep this battle as fair as possible. Besides, the winner will be clear without a ref."

"That overconfidence is very unattractive on you," Paul commented snidely.

"I'm not even going to explain the hypocrisy of that statement coming from you." Leaf shook her head.

"Whatever," Paul rolled his eyes. "I promised you the first move, so go."

"Gladly." Leaf enlarged the Pokéball in her hand. "Furret, you're up!"

"Electivire, standby for battle!"

Both Pokémon emerged from their Pokéballs, ready and raring to go. The shadow of the massive Electivire overtook the tiny Furret, but the Normal-type appeared unfazed. Electivire growled at the Furret, trying to intimidate her, but she merely bristled with vigor, prepared to fight.

"No surprise there," Dawn mumbled. "Electivire is one of Paul's favorites and one of his strongest."

"I suppose that figures," Drew said. "If Paul really wants to win, then he'll be pulling out all the stops to ensure himself victory. Although, that Furret certainly doesn't look like it'll just roll over."

"Well, in terms of size, Paul's got Leaf beat," Kenny said.

"In ego, maybe," Zoey added.

"Furret, let's start off with Hone Claws!" Leaf called the first move with a smile.

"Electivire, Brick Break," Paul ordered calmly.

Electivire charged toward Furret as she prepared her claws, but she quickly leapt up and dodged the attack without Leaf's prompting. Electivire's massive hand instead met the ground, sending a ripple of dirt and dust into the air. Everyone—including Leaf and Paul—had to throw up their arms to protect their eyes, or use their jackets to cover their noses and mouths.

"That Furret's fast!" Iris marveled, coughing.

"That dust has gotta make it hard to see, though," Kenny added.

"Maybe," Cilan mused, "but one of Furret's special abilities is Keen Eye, which prevents a loss of accuracy."

"Quick Furret, use Fury Swipes!" Leaf forced out her next order, taking advantage of the situation.

Furret latched onto Electivire's head and slashed mercilessly at his face, causing the Electric-type to stumble back.

"Electivire, while it's close, use Thunder!"

The red tips of Electivire's tails sparked before overtaking both of them. Furret ceased her onslaught and writhed in pain for a long moment, crying out her own name.

"Furret, get away and use Dig!" No sense of panic was evident in Leaf's voice. Furret escaped by jumping directly over Electivire's head and burrowing into the ground behind him.

"Smart move," Gary commended. "Electivire's Thunder can't have any effect while Furret's underground."

"Electivire, Protect."

Electivire surrounded itself in a veil, making sure to also cover the ground beneath himself.

"Also a smart move," Misty said. "Now Furret's Dig won't have any effect either."

Furret emerged in front of Electivire, and Paul ordered a ThunderPunch attack. However, Leaf countered by again telling Furret to burrow, to which Paul told Electivire to use Protect a second time. This cycle continued for several more turns without any resolution.

"This won't do," May said, chewing on the tip of her thumb. "They can't keep dodging each other forever. Someone's going to have to give."

"Well, with Protect having a 50 percent decay rate every time it's used in battle and with Furret, I imagine, growing tired from constantly tunneling underground, it can't be much longer." Drew suddenly paused, his eyes widening with realization. "Wait-"

"What is it?" May asked curiously.

"Look at the field," he told her. "Electivire's completely surrounded by a bunch of holes from Furret constantly digging underground! Leaf..." He looked toward her, watching her expression carefully. "... she's planning something."

Furret jumped out of the ground for the umpteenth time, and Paul called for another ThunderPunch, growing frustrated with Furret's ability to get away every time with her speed. This time, however, Leaf did not order Furret to Dig. Thus, Furret, with visibly increasing anxiety, watched Electivire charge toward herself, his fist glowing with immense electric power.

"What's she _doing_?" Trip sounded appalled. "She's not even telling her Pokémon to dodge, and that's basic!"

"Whose side are you on?" Iris growled at him. "If that ThunderPunch lands, then there's a chance this battle will be over!"

It did. Electivire brought its fist under Furret, hitting her under the jaw and launching her up into the air. Leaf winced in sympathy for her Pokémon, but smirked with satisfaction, catching Paul, Electivire and the rest of the trainers by surprise. Furret survived the massive blow, as Leaf had predicted, and now hovered above Electivire.

"She wanted this," Paul breathed out.

"All right Furret, time for Giga Impact!"

Furret dove directly toward Electivire at full speed, giving Paul little time to tell him to dodge—and even less time for the Electric-type to obey. Unable to react quickly enough, Furret made contact with Electivire head-on, knocking him down. The sudden impact of Electivire's weight caused the ground to give way beneath him; Furret's tunnels had collapsed, burying him. Again, a cloud of dirt was kicked up into the air, making it impossible to see.

"Electivire!" Paul called out. An edge of concern was present in his tone.

Leaf said nothing, looking on hopefully, but confidently.

Once the fray cleared, Furret rose up, standing tall on her back legs triumphantly. She was on top of Electivire, who had fainted from the powerful move.

"Furret!" the Normal-type chirped happily. Leaf let out an uncharacteristic giggle of delight and called her Pokémon to her. Furret happily obeyed, leaping into Leaf's arms for a hug.

"Excellent job," she cooed to the Long Body Pokémon, and Furret nuzzled her face in response. Electivire came around, and Paul approached him, his hands stuffed into his pockets.

"Thanks," he mumbled, calling him back into his Pokéball. "Take a good rest."

"I can't believe it," Barry awed. "Paul lost!"

"You have to admit, though, that was an incredible strategy on Leaf's end," Ritchie said. "Creating those weak spots in the ground, so Giga Impact, already a powerful move, could have that great of an effect..."

Misty bit her lip, leaning toward Ash.

"Ash," she began very seriously. "What now?"

He shrugged.

"I suppose we go to Dragon's Den," he muttered dejectedly. "That was the deal."

"No, that was Paul's deal," Gary protested. "Don't give up that easily, Ashy-boy. Paul made a good point earlier. It's still fourteen to one."

"I can _hear_ you, Gary," Leaf called from a short distance away. Furret was still in her arms. "Sorry, but by watching and wanting Paul to win, I'd say you were all at least complicit with the deal made."

"Right," Paul grumbled, though it chagrined him to agree. "I stick to my word, so I'm not going to fight you on this anymore."

"Thank you." Leaf smiled, rubbing her Furret affectionately on the head. Her expression suddenly changed though, and her face fell slightly as she thought. Paul raised his eyebrows, watching her carefully.

"You know, I have to admit, Paul," she began distractedly. "It really impressed me today, you defending Ash like that. I'm sure I'm not the only one!" She let out a small chuckle, and Dawn felt an odd tingle run down her spine, noting how the words resonated with her. Her eyes drifted to Paul, who was currently expressionless.

"You really put your pride on the line for this battle, considering that you and Ash aren't even friends... and that everyone probably hates you now that you've lost. Well, not as much as me, but you still let them down," she continued.

"I really hope there's a point to this," Paul groused, "because this is not making me feel any better."

"There is," Leaf affirmed. "You're the last person I'd ever imagine teaching me something about forsaking pride in the name of doing what you think is right, but you schooled me today."

Paul furrowed his eyebrows.

"_What_?" he asked, baffled. She returned Furret to her Pokéball.

"We're going to Mt. Silver."

.

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	15. XIII: In Which Mewtwo Awakens

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Chapter XIII: In Which Mewtwo Awakens

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_**January 9th, 2002. Middle of the night. Outside Silver Town.**_

"This is a bad idea," Leaf sighed as she pressed through the brush that overlooked the dimly lit town. Gary followed closely behind her, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his coat. Patches of snowfall were scattered throughout the area and stuck in the dead and dying tree branches above them. The exact temperature was anyone's guess, but it was likely a smidgen below the freezing point.

"You aren't going to back out, are you?" Gary asked.

"That's all that matters to you, isn't it?" Leaf grumbled as she pulled a pair of binoculars out of her coat.

"Hey, we've already come this far, so we might as well go through with it," Gary shrugged. "Besides, the Silver Conference isn't for months. The place will be a ghost town, especially at this hour."

"Yeah, I know," Leaf admitted. "I just wish there was a way we could circumvent the town and head up the mountain from the back end."

"If you want to talk about bad ideas, _that_ is a bad idea," Gary said. "The hike up Mt. Silver is a difficult one as is. The safest option is take the trainer's path that begins in Silver Town."

"_Thank you_, I'm aware. I'm still mad about it though," Leaf huffed. "Lance is going to kill me. I'm sure Clair is starting to get worried. We were supposed to be at Blackthorn City days ago."

"You'll be fine. Lance can't be too mad if you come back with Giovanni's head on a silver platter."

"What makes you think we're going to look for Giovanni?" Leaf lowered her binoculars.

"Like I said: We've already come this far."

"I agreed to take you guys up Mt. Silver so Ash could meet that kid he saw in his vision. Giovanni isn't a part of the equation."

"Oh, I think you'll find he's a _big_ a part of the equation."

"Whatever, Garebear," Leaf rolled her eyes as she dropped her binoculars back into her coat. "You just keep living in your little dream world."

"All right, fine," Gary gave in. "Remember this, though: I was right about you following Ash's lead. Paul stepping in was a surprise, but I ultimately was still right."

Irritated by his persistence, Leaf huffed and turned quickly on her heel, stalking back through the brush. Her brisk behavior caused a thorned branch to bend and snap against her hand, making a shallow cut just below her knuckles. She hissed a curse under her breath, and Gary, half-amused, went after her as they returned to camp.

Everyone was awake, waiting. Since they couldn't make a fire so close to town, many of the young trainers had huddled together to stay warm in the freezing winter air. The shivering and quiet conversation stopped as Leaf approached, and she paused to pick up a stick half the length of her arm off the ground.

"OK, so quick question..." Leaf began calmly as the group gathered around her, "... who has been to Mt. Silver before?"

"I have," Gary stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Yeah, I figured. Anyone else?" Leaf asked.

"I've trained there before," Paul answered, but Leaf looked at him doubtfully. "What? You want proof? I captured my Sneasel there before he evolved into Weavile."

"Fine, I believe you," Leaf conceded. "Is that all? Ash, didn't you participate in the Silver Conference several years ago?"

"Yup," Ash confirmed. "I never went to Mt. Silver, though. But, I'm pretty sure Mist' and I know how to get to the base of the mountain, where the trainer's path starts."

"Good, that's all I need." Leaf called out her Flaaffy and ordered her to use Flash to light up the ground. The Electric-type obeyed, and Leaf bent down and gestured for everyone else to do the same.

"All right, this is what we're going to do," she said as she began drawing a rough map of the town in the dirt with her stick. "As you can imagine, I'm already really unhappy that we're going into town at all. I did not want it to come to this, but we just don't have a choice. So we're taking all the precautions to make sure this little endeavor doesn't out any of you, since you're all supposed to be dead. That's why we're doing this at this time, and that's why it's great that it's the middle of winter—very few, if any, people will be out and about at this hour. Still, if anyone catches a group of fifteen teenagers wandering around in the middle of the night, well, it'll raise some eyebrows, and we don't want to draw any attention to ourselves. So we'll be splitting up."

Leaf drew three ovals and wrote five names in each of them:

Gary  
Trip  
Ritchie  
Barry  
Kenny

Paul  
Dawn  
Zoey  
Drew  
May

Ash  
Misty  
Leaf  
Iris  
Cilan

"We'll leave in 20 minute intervals," Leaf continued. "The person whose name is at the top of these groups is the 'leader,' I guess you could say, because they know—at least they should know—their way around Silver Town and how to get to the tourist center for Mt. Silver. That's where the path starts. We're all going meet there, and then we'll start our hike up the mountain. Gary's group leaves first; Ash's leaves last. Sound good?"

"What if someone sees us?" May asked.

"Well, for starters, don't talk to them," Leaf began, "and go the other direction. If you've got a hooded sweatshirt, keep your hood up. If you've got sunglasses, wear them."

"Those all just sounds like tactics to make us look _more_ suspicious," Trip contested. "Sunglasses at 3 a.m.? That's just stupid."

"Whatever, pretend your blind and walk with a cane then. Just try to protect your identity." Leaf stood up. "Well, are we ready to go?"

_**January 9th, 2002. Middle of the night. Location Unknown.**_

The heart monitor maintained a steady beat, and the nurse yawned with exhaustion. A Team Rocket symbol was sewed to the upper left pocket on his scrubs. He had been watching over Mewtwo all night long and for several days beforehand to ensure the clone Pokémon made a full recovery.

He understood his orders well: If Mewtwo showed any signs of waking up, he was to immediately call Dr. Zager to place the mind-control whose-a-whatsit helmet on him. The nurse had fought (fought being a very strong word; gently explained and implored was a more accurate description) his boss, Giovanni, to keep the helmet off during the recovery process. It would simply get in the way of everything.

He yawned again, watching the comatose Pokémon with absolute fascination. He had not been on staff long, but he has been privileged with the classified information about the original Project Legendary and its revival as a new project under the same name. Cloning a Mew and creating the world's most powerful Pokémon was big, but now there were _bigger_ plans in place.

The nurse nearly jumped when he swore he saw the tip of Mewtwo's nose twitch, but he convinced himself it was merely a part of his imagination. Yes, he was just hallucinating after the many sleepless hours he endured.

Hopefully.

_**January 9th, 2002. Middle of the night. Silver Town.**_

"Arceus, this little adventure better turn out favorably," Trip muttered under his misty breath, pulling his jacket tighter around him. "I'll be so mad if Ash's so-called vision is a farce."

"It isn't," Ritchie assured him. "Ash wouldn't lie to us."

"Yeah, and if it turns out it is, I'll fine him," Barry concluded with a satisfied nod.

"Ash isn't an actor, though. No way he could have faked that seizure-like thing," Kenny added.

"With all due respect you four, please _shut up_," Gary hissed at them. "The last thing I want is for us to get caught because you all can't keep your mouth shut for 20 minutes."

The small group had left the remaining ten trainers about five minutes earlier and were making their way across the empty streets, past the closed restaurants and darkened homes. The empty Silver Stadium loomed in the distance, and its haunting presence hung over them in the late hour.

"Sheesh, you talk about Leaf being Lance's pet when it sounds like _you're_ actually Leaf's pet," Trip grumbled.

"I am _not_ Leaf's pet," Gary retorted indignantly.

"You sure do follow her around a lot," Trip countered, "and now you're starting to talk like her."

"Hey, now that Trip mentions it, it's kind of true," Kenny agreed. "Seems funky to me. Something going on between you two?"

"Something _romantic_?" Barry added, wiggling his eyebrows at the researcher suggestively.

"Oh please," Gary grimaced. "Anything _but_. She and I fight all the time."

"You two would be a perfect match," Trip continued. "You're both very prideful."

"Wouldn't that theoretically make them a bad match?" Ritchie asked.

"Yes, it would. Thank you, Ritchie," Gary said.

"Doesn't change the fact that you're two sides of the same coin," Trip replied.

"You know what, I'm done having this conversation," Gary finally said, frustrated. "The world will freeze over before Leaf and I ever get together. The chances of her agreeing to go out on a date with me are about the equivalent of her deciding to renounce her loyalty to the G-Men. End of story."

* * *

Zoey kept a close eye on her digital watch, and she let out a sudden breath when the clock changed to 4:33 a.m. She looked up to her other group members and informed them that 20 minutes had passed. They, along with Ash's group, were still hanging on the outskirts of town.

"Good," Paul said gruffly, slinging his backpack around his shoulder. "Let's get going then."

May nodded and picked herself up off the ground, dusting herself off in the process. Drew handed her bag to her, for which she smiled and uttered a quiet but sincere "thank you" in response.

Dawn clutched Piplup closer to her chest, nervous. She cast a glance at the empty town and made a silent wish they wouldn't run into any trouble. She then looked to Zoey and Paul and made a second silent wish that they would manage to get along for at least the length of the trip. Although, she had to admit, they had been fairly civil to each other for a couple of days now. Dawn thought that perhaps Paul battling Leaf had earned Zoey's tentative respect; it certainly had earned hers.

Paul waved off Leaf, and she returned the gesture.

"Do you know where you're going?" Zoey asked as they headed off. She had not intended the question to be accusatory, but it seemed to come off that way to Paul.

"Of course I know where I'm going," he growled. Dawn's breath caught for a moment, and she looked to Zoey, whose expression was undoubtedly one of annoyance, but the redhead held her tongue. For that, Dawn let out a relieved sigh.

"That group has quite an explosive flavor," Cilan commented once they were out of sight and out of earshot.

"I know," Iris agreed. "Looks like fun."

* * *

The electric hum of the dim streetlight was barely audible in the silence of the town, and Paul moved closer to the wall of the building beside him to avoid being caught in the lamp's light. Drew, May, Dawn, and Zoey followed his lead. So far, everything had gone along smoothly. The only person they had seen was a drunk man stumbling down the street. He hadn't even noticed the group of teenagers as he wobbled along, so they had kept going.

Dawn was closely trailing behind Paul, and after a couple more minutes of silence, she quickened her pace to reach his side and asked in a hushed tone, "How far away are we now?"

He didn't look at her.

"About halfway," he replied shortly. "The tourist center is just beyond the stadium."

A sudden clatter of metal caught all five off-guard. A Meowth had jumped from the roof of the building and onto a trash, but it had lost its balance and caused the can to topple over in a loud crash. The commotion instilled a brief instinctive jolt of fear in the trainers, but they quickly relaxed once they saw the Meowth scamper away and realized what had actually happened. Dawn's Piplup, however, didn't react as calmly.

"Pi-Pi-Pip-luuuup!" he squealed before jumping out of Dawn's arms and running in the opposite direction of the Meowth.

"Piplup!" Dawn cried aloud, running after him.

"Dawn!" Paul hissed at her, warning her to be quiet, but she had already disappeared around the corner.

"Daw-" May began also loudly, but Paul hushed her as well.

"-Hey, shut up!" he growled. "Don't draw more unnecessary attention to us!"

"Don't talk to her like that!" Drew bristled.

"Both of you shush," Zoey warned in a low tone. "Everybody just calm down. Let's go get Dawn."

She went ahead, and the other three followed. They didn't have to go far; Dawn was still just around the corner, though she was in a state of panic. She quickly turned to Zoey when she heard them approach.

"He's gone!" Her voice sounded slightly watery as she spoke, though she had toned down her volume. "I don't know where he went! I can't find him!"

"Don't worry, Dawn," Zoey reassured her, placing comforting hands on her shoulders to calm her. "We're going to find him."

"Yeah, everything will be just fine," May added with a half-smile. Zoey then turned her head and looked pointedly at Paul, and he let out a frustrated sigh and irritably muttered something under his breath.

"All right, here's what we'll do," he said before retrieving one of his Pokéballs. "Honchkrow, standby."

The Big Boss Pokémon emerged with a cry, and Paul quickly and harshly told him to keep it down.

"Her Piplup is missing," Paul continued, flicking his head toward Dawn. "Find him and bring him back here."

Honchkrow nodded and silently flew off.

* * *

Iris turned her head slightly when she heard the flapping of wings above her, and she saw a large, black bird-like Pokémon fly over her head. The rest of her group members paused and looked up as well when they noticed that the Dragon trainer had stopped.

"What was that?" Iris asked once the Pokémon disappeared.

"A Honchkrow," Ash answered plainly. "Their pre-evolved form, Murkrow, come from the Johto region."

"I would think it would be unusual for a Flying-type to be out in this cold weather though," Cilan commented. "It should have flown south for the winter by now..."

"Maybe it's migrating late?" Misty suggested.

"Or maybe it belongs to someone." The air became thick with silence for a moment, and Leaf, disturbed by the implications of her own statement, turned and muttered, "Ash, let's hurry."

* * *

Dawn shuffled her feet nervously as she waited next to Paul, who was leaning up against the brick wall of the alleyway with his hands fitted into the pockets of his jeans.

Finally becoming annoyed with her constant fidgeting, he said, "Will you quit it? It's not doing you any good just standing there and flitting around. Honchkrow will be back with your Piplup soon."

Dawn furrowed her eyebrows, also annoyed.

"Hey! You'd be nervous, too, if your starter Pokémon went missing!" she protested.

"I don't know how I could _possibly_ lose Torterra," Paul said snidely. "You just don't _lose_ a 600 lb. Pokémon."

"I'm just talking hypothetically here," Dawn retorted, exasperated. "You'd care if he disappeared, wouldn't you? I mean, you've got to care about_ something_."

Drew raised his eyebrows toward Paul, intrigued by the point Dawn was making, whether or not she was intending to make it. May and Zoey also cast a curious glance in the Sinnoh trainers' direction, and Paul frowned. He, fortunately for himself, didn't have to respond to Dawn's question, as Honchkrow and Piplup made their return known as Piplup ran and jumped into Dawn's arms and Honchkrow hovered above Paul's head.

"Oh Piplup!" she cried, relieved. "I was so worried! Don't ever run off like that again!"

"Pip!" the Water-type promised. Paul lifted a Pokéball.

"Thanks, Honchkrow. Return," he said gruffly before turning to Dawn. "Better put yours away, too. Let's not have that happen again. The others are already probably wondering where we are."

"Right," Dawn agreed, embarrassed. She reached into her bag and pulled out Piplup's Pokéball. "Piplup, return."

* * *

"Well, about time you guys arri- oh," Gary stopped short when he realized who was approaching, and he pressed his lips into a hard line, thinking. He and his four companions had been waiting outside the tourist center for Mt. Silver for over a half-hour now, looking out for the other ten trainers who were supposed to arrive after them.

"We're not even late," Ash protested as he, Leaf, Misty, Cilan, and Iris neared Gary. "We hurried here after... anyway, we didn't want to keep you guys waiting."

"Well, we're still waiting," Trip grumbled. "Paul and the other four aren't here yet."

"_What_?" Leaf quickly pushed past Ash. "How could they not be here yet? They left 20 minutes before us!"

"Don't worry. That's the last thing we need," Gary admonished. "They probably just got held up."

"Oh, and you know who does the holding up? People. You know who I wanted you all to avoid?_ People_." Leaf began, her own brand of hysteria shining through her tone. "Worse, that group is full of some of the nation's most recognizable young trainers. Paul competed here several years ago and did well enough to get his name out there, and the others are all hold a stake in the coordinating world. In fact, Zoey's the most recent Top Coordinator of Sinnoh! Everyone knows her name and face!"

"I didn't," Trip said. "I didn't even know what-"

"-You're right!" Barry cut the Unovan trainer short as a look of horror suddenly fell across his face. "It would have been better if they had run into Trip! Nobody knows who he is!" Trip glowered at him, and Iris, despite the heavy situation, held back a laugh.

"Now, let's not jump to conclusions," Cilan said calmly. "We don't know if they've been seen or anything of the sort. If I understand correctly, it has been a long time since Paul competed here, and perhaps he simply misjudged how well he remembered the area."

"Right, let's just wait a few minutes," Ritchie added. Leaf sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, frazzled.

"No... no, I have to go look for them," she concluded. "They should have been here. Arceus, I'm going to kill Paul." She dropped her backpack to the ground.

"Gary's in charge until I get back," she continued. "Don't leave this spot unless someone starts coming."

"Oh? Why Gary?" Kenny asked, casting a sideways glance toward the researcher. Trip, Barry, and Ritchie also raised an eyebrow or two toward him, and a muffled growl vibrated in the back of Gary's throat, remembering their earlier teasing.

"My reasons aren't important," Leaf replied flippantly as she quickly tied up her hair, and Gary looked away, irritated. She then turned and headed back into the shadows of the night, disappearing into the concrete jungle of streetlights and buildings. As soon as she was gone, Trip smirked and turned to Gary.

"Not her pet, huh?"

* * *

"Someone's coming," Drew realized, watching a dark figure hurry in their direction.

"Well, don't freak out about it," Paul said, pulling up his hood. "Probably just another drunk."

But the figure wasn't a drunk at all. Leaf suddenly emerged in the light of the streetlamp, and the two sides paused to stare at each other for a long moment once they recognized each other. Leaf's expression went through an array of emotions, from initial surprise, to relief, ending on utter fury. She stormed straight up to Paul and jabbed a finger into his chest.

"Where have you been?" she demanded angrily. Paul's bottom lip twitched, but he remained calm, somehow managing to keep his own temper in check.

"On my way, what do you think?" he replied shortly.

"I thought you said you knew your way around Silver Town!"

"I do."

"Then what are you all doing dawdling back here? My group left 20 minutes after you on the dot. You should have been at the tourist center long ago!"

Dawn shyly ducked her head, almost scared. She had never seen Leaf so _angry_; irritated, sure, but that usually only gave rise to a few sarcastic remarks, with a hip swung to the left and her hands placed firmly just above the curves of her lower body. But, here, at this moment, she looked like she was on the verge of smacking Paul and screaming at him—and she probably would have if it weren't for the fact she didn't want to get them caught.

"Sorry?" Paul shrugged. Leaf sucked in her breath, still livid, but attempting to reel in her emotions.

"I was serious when I asked who knew their way around Silver Town," she said coldly. "If you didn't know, then you shouldn't have volunteered. Mew, I should have put Misty in charge instead!"

"Why is this such a big deal? We haven't been noticed or anything. We're fine."

"It's a big deal because if you get discovered, then you're in danger. Actually, you know what, I don't care whether you're in danger or not. If you're outed, and everything the G-Men have done to protect you from Team Rocket unravels because of my choice to take you here, then I am as good as dead. I will be tossed out of the G-Men, and I don't want that to happen, because that's all I have right now." She shook her head, realizing she was saying too much. "Look, like you, I believe in what Ash is saying, but I don't want to shoot myself in the foot trying to help something that's way bigger than me. Is that selfish? Maybe. But there's a lot more on the line for me than just pride. When you weren't at the tourist center, I feared the worst. What happened?"

A needle of guilt pierced Dawn's gut, and she decided to speak up.

"Actually, Leaf, it's-" she began tentatively, but she was surprised when she was quickly cut off.

"Nothing," Paul said. "Nothing happened. We were just slow. I'm sorry we caused you have a panic attack, or whatever."

Dawn appeared surprised, wondering why he was hiding the truth that her Piplup had run off. Zoey folded her arms, watching Paul carefully, and even May and Drew exchanged confused glances.

"Nothing," Leaf repeated doubtfully.

"Nothing," Paul nodded.

Leaf then looked to Zoey, and the redhead was silent for a moment, making brief eye contact with Paul before responding.

"It's true," she affirmed. "Nothing out of the ordinary happened. You know, Dawn hurt her ankle several weeks ago, so we were just keeping a manageable pace. Maybe you and the others were just moving more quickly than you thought because you were nervous."

Leaf remained quiet for a long moment, remembering the Honchkrow. She then looked to Zoey again, still somewhat suspicious, but the redhead didn't budge.

"All right," Leaf sighed. "Well, let's go. The tourist center is obviously closed, so we'll need to climb the fence and head out back 'till we find the start of the mountain trail. Dawn, we'll help you if your ankle hurts."

Dawn opened her mouth, prepared to inform Leaf that she was actually fine, that her ankle didn't hurt, and that it hadn't for days now. She stopped, however, when Drew gave her a slight nudge in the side and a look that said, 'Just drop it.' She nodded, but turned a curious eye to Paul, wondering why he had protected her name.

_**January 9th, 2002. Early Morning. Indigo Plateau.**_

Cynthia pulled her long blonde hair back behind her head and threaded a hair tie through her yellow tresses. The hairstyle revealed her second eye and made her appear younger, a difficult feat, as she already had a youthful appearance. She was still in her nightwear, though the light of morning filtered through the long windows before which she stood.

"I haven't seen you looking like that since we began dating." Steven's comment caught her by surprise, as she wasn't aware that he was awake yet, but it didn't show on her vacant expression. He noticed this when she turned to face him, and he frowned.

"It's starting to become cumbersome," she said, brushing a loose strand out of her eye. "I'm long overdue to have it cut."

"I like your hair."

"You don't have to maintain it."

"This is true." Steven rose to his feet. "You don't look well. Morning sickness again?"

"No," Cynthia denied. "There is an awful lot on my mind, though."

"As is everyone else's, I imagine," he mused. "What troubles you?"

Cynthia was silent for a long moment, passing a hand over the low curve of her abdomen. It had grown minimally in the days since the memorial, but its presence was slowly but surely becoming more pronounced, if someone was looking for it. Outside of herself and Steven, only Lance and Solidad (though she for reasons beyond her physique) had taken notice. She wondered how long it would be before Wallace and Alder figured it out, too.

"I had a dream last night," she began solemnly, "about Emily McGonnigal. I didn't realize I was still thinking about her, but you dream about the things that are on your mind."

"What happened in it?" Steven asked.

"I don't remember," Cynthia shook her head. "I just remember seeing her purple face again, as if I needed a reminder. That's the funny thing about dreams: They're so vivid, so real, but once you wake up, they're gone, and trying to remember them is like trying to hold water. I suppose I can understand Ash Ketchum's frustration better now."

"And this bothers you?"

"I've been trying to block it out of my head, I suppose," she sighed. "I know there isn't much more I can do, I just... I gave her the tools to save herself, the words she'll need, but she refused to use them. Unselfishly, because I suppose she thought it would protect her son. What an amazing and sad thing. At what point does the preservation of your own child become more important than the preservation of your life, or perhaps even someone else's life? Is there a line?"

"I'm not sure there's an answer for that," Steven admitted. "I'm guessing we're going to spend the next 18 years grappling with that question, though, aren't we?"

Cynthia's hands dropped to her sides.

"Yes, I suppose so."

_**January 9th, 2002. Morning. Outside Blackthorn City.**_

The cold air whipped around Clair as she and her Dragonite soared higher and higher into the air, bringing Blackthorn City and the surrounding snowy mountains into full view. The city was visibly robust with people, even from this height; the Johto Grand Festival began in several days, and competing coordinators and spectators had started filtering into the city in troves since last week. Even with the delay and large number of trainers who dropped out, it seemed the festival would still be a competitive event.

The mountains, however, were empty, and they had been for every day she had been up here. She and her Pokémon had first taken to the skies six days ago, looking for Leaf and her party of trainers as speckles of color on the white buttes. But she had seen nothing, and that was a problem.

Her students were starting to grow confused by her behavior, as she was now flying with her Pokémon multiple times a day now. It wasn't necessarily uncommon for her to go flying with her Dragon-types, but every day, several times a day, for six days in a row? It didn't surprise her when her students started asking questions. Luckily, she had a conceivable answer in her back pocket: since Lance had yet to lift the ban on gyms accepting challengers, her Pokémon had grown restless and often needed to be taken out and exercised.

Dissatisfied with the results of this trip and fearing the worst, Clair took Dragonite back down to the earth. Clair then quickly dismounted, patted him affectionately on his snout, and returned him to his Pokéball.

"Clair!" The Dragon Master turned when she heard her name called and saw that one of her students, Fran, was approaching. "Someone was here at the gym."

"The gym's closed," Clair replied shortly.

"Yes, I know, but... they were not looking for a gym badge. It was a coordinator. He wanted to battle you for access into the Dragon's Den, so he could train in preparation for the festival."

Clair sighed as she started heading into the gym, taking off her coat. Fran followed.

"The gym's closed, so Dragon's Den is closed, too," she concluded. "If he comes back, give him my apologies. This is not my own choice. I'm listening to Lance's orders."

Fran pursed her lips, frustrated.

"Lance is your cousin, isn't he? I don't mean to step out of line, but this ban seems pointless," she said, exasperated. "Wallace said it's not anti-league. It's Team Rocket. We can't live in fear of them. Life has to carry on. The gyms have to open again, eventually. Contest events are obviously still happening. Why gyms only? I realize that several gyms were attacked, but I thought that was proved to be coincidence..."

"Fourteen children _died_, Fran," Clair said. "I understand your frustration. Every other gym leader in the nation, I'm sure, is also frustrated. But the G-Men are simply doing what they think will best protect the people and Pokémon."

Fran backed down.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I understand."

Clair was silent for a moment, stepping away.

"Thank you," she said tacitly. Fran nodded and left the gym leader to herself.

As soon as her student was gone, Clair turned and hurried upstairs to her study. She quickly slid into the seat at her desk and ripped a piece of paper out of her lined notebook. When she reached for a pen, she accidentally knocked the jar over in her rush. She didn't bother to pick up the mess, but snatched one and began writing furiously.

_**January 9th, 2002. Afternoon. Mt. Silver.**_

Even as the sun rose, the atmosphere grew no warmer as the trainers ascended up the difficult mountain trail.

Everyone knew there was a reason the tourist center for Mt. Silver was closed during the winter. Only advanced trainers who had possessed their license for more than a year and had a full team of six Pokémon were permitted to hike it by themselves, as it was considered a dangerous place for novices or those who aren't properly equipped. Of course, there were tour guides who took nontrainers up the mountain during the summer and spring, but when the weather cooled down and snow began to fall, the trail was closed off entirely to the public._**  
**_

Ash wasn't worried, though. He couldn't be; he couldn't back out now, not after Paul had put his pride on the line for him. Not after Leaf had finally agreed to go. Not after Mewtwo had sent him that vision. Not after so many had put their faith in him.

He folded Pikachu into his jacket, attempting to keep the Electric-type warm. As they went higher and higher, it became colder and colder. Nothing would stop them, though. No one would complain. He had to do this. This was the mutual understanding among them, perhaps the first of few the diverse group would ever agree upon.

He was the Chosen One after all... right?

_**January 9th, 2002. Late Afternoon. Indigo Plateau.**_

Agent Adalet stood by Lance passively, watching as his leader silently read the message Clair had sent. Adalet, himself, had not read the letter; he had merely received the Swablu carrying it and pulled Lance away from his work to present it to him. The Swablu was now perched on the top of a bookshelf in Lance's private office, where his reaction would remain safely hidden from the other Champions.

Finally, Lance raised the paper and ripped it in two, and this move caught Adalet off guard.

"Burn it," Lance said, monotone, as the shredded pieces drifted to the ground.

"Sir?" Adalet inquired, confused.

"I don't want the content of that message getting out."

"Of course," Adalet nodded, bending down to retrieve the fallen shreds. "I presume the children have arrived at Dragon's Den?"

"No."

Adalet's head snapped up.

"_No_?"

"No," Lance repeated. "They are late, and I suspect they will not arrive there."

"Have they been captured, then?" Adalet's tone turned serious, angry even, as he rose to his feet. "If so, we need to respond immediately. At your word, we'll mobilize out forces and-"

"That won't be necessary," Lance said as he sat down at his desk and pulled his own piece of paper out. "I highly doubt they've been found. If that was case... believe me, Giovanni would let us know about it." Adalet stood motionless for a long moment, stunned. In the back of his mind, he realized Lance was right; certainly, a man like Giovanni would flaunt his organization's capture of fourteen trainers the G-Men had insisted were dead, furthering the damage on an already hurting reputation.

"Then-" Adalet paused to collect himself. "Then we should look for them. We'll find them, and I will personally see to it that Agent Greene is yanked out of the mission and sent back to the Indigo Plateau. I will then take those children to Dragon's Den myself, which is originally what should have happened."

"I don't want to waste my resources," Lance replied tacitly, retrieving a pen. "Trying to find them would be like trying to find a needle in haystack. Moreover, any large-scale efforts of a search party would undoubtedly draw unwanted attention that could potentially ruin everything we've done so far."

"Sir-"

"-It's _working_, agent." Lance paused his writing, rising to his feet once again. "I had my private reservations, but it's working. No one suspects anything other than what we've told them. The families are mourning, the public is angry, and the media is eating it up. They believe it. Giovanni's silence tells me he believes it, too, and that is the _one_ thing protecting those fourteen trainers. If the illusion is broken, then we have nothing going for us."

"So we're going to do nothing instead?" Adalet demanded. "Pardon me, sir, but you seem awfully calm when I think you should angry over the fact-

"-**I _am_ angry**." Lance's booming voice reverberated off the walls, and Adalet nearly flinched. "It was a simple mission. The hard part was not getting them to Johto; it was selling the story, which we did. All those trainers have traveled long distances before. They didn't even need a guide. They likely could've gotten themselves to Dragon's Den on their own. I just wanted someone there to make sure they weren't _stupid_ enough to wander into town. Leaf might be a pain in the side, but I didn't think she was stupid, and I wanted to give her the chance to show it."

"I was right then," Adalet snarled. "It _was_ a test."

"You should know, agent: There is nothing I hate more than insurgence. From you, from Leaf, and from Cynthia for that matter." Lance sat back down and resumed writing. "However, I am also a reasonable man."

"I sometimes question the soundness of your reasoning."

"_However_," Lance repeated after clearing his throat, "I am also a reasonable man. I still don't think Leaf is stupid, and I am curious as to what could possibly convince her is more important than following my order."

"... and more important than the assured safety of those trainers," Adalet added. "We really aren't going to do anything?"

"No, we will do something." Lance set his pen down and folded his now finished letter. "Rather, you will do something. You'll see that this message is delivered to Clair, and you will begin tracking Leaf's credit card. She has one from the G-Men with her. If they're staying out for an extended period of time, they're going to need supplies."

"Is she uses her card, that could potentially tip Giovanni off," Adalet warned.

"Possibly. I doubt it. I think she'll doubt it, too, which is exactly why she might be comfortable enough to use it. We never released Leaf's name; I don't know as to whether Team Rocket would look at her purchasing activity if there were a digital breech of security." Lance rounded his desk and handed the letter to Adalet. "To be safe, I would erase her and her employment information from our staff database entirely."

"You're enabling her."

"I'm protecting her."

"She doesn't deserve your protection."

"Her wards do."

Adalet's lips tightened. The Swablu glided down from the bookcase and landed on his shoulder.

"Very well," he finally agreed, before following Lance out into the hallway. "What will you tell the others?"

"What they want to hear," Lance told him simply. "I expect you to say nothing of this."

"I will not lie for you."

"Yes, you will," Lance said firmly. "I like you, Erol. Please don't make me change me mind."

Adalet was silent for a long moment, refusing to break eye contact with Lance.

"Fine," the agent gave in, turning away.

"Thank you," Lance called out before he continuing on his own way to meet with the other Champions.

He found them in the same positions in which he'd left them: Sitting at a round table, thumbing through files. While the G-Men's digital library was extensive—scarily extensive—the move from print reports to digital had not been completed yet. The transition started in the year 2000 under Lance's direction and was a work in progress, but it wasn't yet complete. The present result was one of extreme messiness, which, Lance knew, was unacceptable under the current severity of conditions, but there was little he could do about it now, except move on to the next yellow folder.

Lance snatched a file from on top of the stack and sat down to examine it.

"What did Agent Adalet have to tell you?" Cynthia asked, her eyes still glued to her own work.

"Clair had sent a message," Lance replied shortly. Suddenly, all activity stopped, and the four others fell into silence as they watched Lance in anticipation.

"Are they there yet?" Cynthia asked hopefully.

Lance tightened his lips; he saw Steven watching him out of the corner of his eye.

"Yes," he said with a straight face.

A breath of relief swept across the group, and a happy conversation about the success of their endeavor thus far ensued. Lance cast his eyes downward and made a pass for another file.

Steven said nothing through all of this. He took a sip of his coffee, continuing to watch Lance carefully.

_**November 3rd, 1997. Early Evening. Indigo Plateau.**_

Her feet didn't reach the floor from the chair on which she was sitting._**  
**_

She was so little, a child still, which was why Steven was so surprised to see her sitting inside Lance's office, reading an above age-appropriate novel. He set his bag near the door.

"Hello?" he tentatively introduced himself.

"Lance isn't here. You're going to have to wait," she said without looking up.

"I'm sorry?"

"Lance is out right now. He'll probably be back soon, though," the young girl repeated.

"Yes, I understand," Steven nodded, though he still appeared baffled. "What's your name?"

"Leaf."

"Are you a trainer, Leaf?"

"Yup. I got my starter in April: a Bulbasaur from Professor Oak."

"I see." Steven now found the situation downright bizarre. Lance, to his knowledge, didn't have any particular inclination toward children, nor did he take part in any social events that would put himself in contact with them—or people, for that matter. He was strictly about business; the only close relationship he really had with anyone was his cousin, Clair, and perhaps himself, though even that was a stretch. "What are you doing here?"

"I work here." Steven got the sense that she had been asked that question many times. "I'm a G-Men agent, like you."

"Oh, I-" He was tempted to bring this into further question, but he supposed there was no harm in playing along. "I'm not a G-Men agent, actually. My name's Steven Stone. I'm the Champion of Hoenn, and I lead the G-Men division there."

"Oh, _you're_ Steven," Leaf said with a light of realization in her blue eyes. "I didn't know what you looked like. You're the other Champion who's helping Lance with Team Rocket right now."

"How did you know about Team Rocket?"

"I already told you: I'm a G-Men agent."

Suddenly, the door swung open and Lance entered, pulling off his coat.

"I'm sorry I'm late, Steven," he apologized gruffly. "I hope Leaf didn't give you too much trouble." He gave her a pointed look, and she, understanding his message, hopped off the chair and skipped out.

"She's... cute..." Steven said, turning to face Lance once Leaf was gone. "Is she a younger sibling, or a niece?"

"She's a student," Lance replied plainly as he sat down.

"A _student_? She was saying she's a G-Men agent."

"Well, she's that, too."

Steven looked appalled.

"A G-Men agent? I know I'm still fairly new to this organization, but don't we have some sort of age requirement? She must be 10!"

"She actually just turned 11."

"That doesn't help your argument." Steven shook his head. "Since when have you had a student? And why is she 11 years old? You don't just induct preteens into the G-Men!"

"I thought you'd be the last to harp on me when it comes to the age of associates, Steven," Lance grumbled. "Yes, Leaf is young, but your pick for Sinnoh was also very young."

"Cynthia?" Steven blinked. "She's 19, not 11."

"She's also very pretty."

"... OK," Steven sighed, placing his hands on Lance's desk once he realized the direction this conversation was headed. "I did _not_ pick Cynthia because she's... attractive. She's talented, too. Extraordinarily talented."

"Sure, but it also helps that she's beautiful."

"You didn't have a problem with this back in January. Why are you suddenly bringing this up?"

"You're right, I didn't have a problem with it in January," Lance agreed. "But, I didn't know you were dating Cynthia back in January either."

Steven mentally stumbled, and it showed.

"I- How did you-?"

"I thought so," Lance frowned. "Love tends to tint your perspective. I can't help but wonder if your impression of her talents were distorted and she-

"-Cynthia and I were not involved with each other when we first met," Steven retorted indignantly. "We started seeing each other after she was elected Champion. I had no intention of getting into a relationship with her when I nominated her; that's just how the cards fell. Cynthia is more than worthy of the title." Steven paused, taking in a deep breath. "This is off-topic. We were talking about Leaf."

Lance rose to his feet.

"If you insist that Cynthia retain her status a Champion, despite the questionable circumstances of her nomination," he began slowly, "then I will insist Leaf retain her membership in the G-Men, despite her age."

Steven exhaled with an air of frustration.

"Right. I... thought we came here to discuss Team Rocket," he gave in, defeated. The edge of Lance's lip curved into a smirk.

"Yes. We did."

_**January 9th, 2002. Evening. Mt. Silver.**_

The group's travels for the day were met with an early end—at least, an end earlier than they had been accustomed to for the past couple of weeks._**  
**_

As the sun began to set, they knew they would not be able to go on much longer. The temperature drop that came with evening combined with the difficulty seeing would prove too dangerous. So when they happened upon a small alcove in the side of the mountain, they knew this was their resting place for the evening. Ash had initially protested, but Misty was able to appeal to his better senses.

There was no wood with which to make a fire, so improvisations had to be made. Several Fire-types were called out of their Pokéballs, and they were more than happy to attend to the needs of their trainers with their natural warmth.

"I don't know how I'm going to get any sleep tonight," Dawn commented, warming her pale fingers by the fire on her Quilava's backside. She was bundled up in all her winter wear and had the Pokémon settled on her lap. Zoey, Kenny, and Barry were all sitting nearby, having no Fire-type themselves.

"I'm sure we'll be fine," the redhead said. "Lucky we found this cave."

"No kidding!" Barry agreed. "We definitely would have been in trouble with that snow if it weren't for this set-up."

"Really, it's lucky we even go through this morning." The four Sinnoh trainers were all very surprised when they noticed Paul approaching, his massive Magmortar trudging behind him. He stopped, his dark eyes giving them a cursory once-over. "You all look quite pathetic right now, all huddled up like that."

"It's cold. What do you expect?" Kenny grumbled. "And what do you mean by this morning?"

"Oh..." Dawn looked toward the male coordinator. "I... think he's referring to the fact that Leaf kind of had a meltdown when we hadn't arrived yet."

"So, what happened?" Barry asked. Zoey's eyes glued to Paul as he spoke.

"It's not worth getting into," the mauve-haired stated plainly. Kenny was about to ask why he'd brought it up at all then, but Dawn spoke first.

"Then why don't you sit down at least?" Dawn invited. "Maybe we'd look less pathetic if we had your Magmortar's flame to help keep us warm." Her tone was half-teasing. He seemed wary at first, but he eventually took up her offer. Zoey watched him for a moment longer, but she turned her head when he noticed her gaze. Barry grinned when Paul joined them before turning his attention to Magmortar in awe.

"Woah," he began, "I remember battling this thing in the Sinnoh League, but I don't remember it being so _huge_!"

Paul raised an eyebrow, but he said nothing.

"Definitely not the biggest Pokémon I've ever seen, though, no siree!" Barry went on.

"What is the biggest Pokémon you've ever seen, Barry?" Kenny asked. The blonde placed his hands onto the tops of his knees, grinning.

"Well, Dawn was there. We were at the Twinleaf Festival, when a Xatu flew over us and we had a really trippy dream where-"

Seeing that they were distracted, Zoey flicked her eyes over to Paul once again and asked in a hushed tone, "Could I speak with you alone for a moment?"

"No, I'm trying to listen to the ADHD kid's story," he replied as an excuse. Zoey rolled her eyes.

"Come on," she urged, annoyed as she rose to her feet and discreetly left her friends behind. Paul emitted a low growl from the back of his voice, but he followed anyway. Only Dawn noticed their leave, but she decided not to comment on it, and she returned to Barry's story of his huge Heracross.

Zoey stopped in a darker part of the alcove, where the light of the tail of Ritchie's faraway Charmeleon, Zippo, only highlighted the outline of her and Paul's features.

"What do you want?" Paul muttered sourly when he met her.

"Why did you lie to Leaf to protect Dawn this morning?" she asked, getting straight to the point. "You didn't deserve to be chewed out today. Leaf was in a bad place. No one was at fault for what happened, and in truth, it really wasn't that big of a deal, but she was upset, and she going to yell at someone whether it was warranted or not. I _know_ you didn't say anything about Dawn's Piplup because you didn't want Leaf to turn on Dawn and grill her for being irresponsible or whatever. Why?"

"Does it matter?" He didn't deny Zoey's analysis, nor did he seem bothered by it; if he was, it didn't show in his listless expression.

"Yes," Zoey pressed.

"You want an honest answer? I don't know," Paul replied, folding his arms. "I still don't see why this matters, though. Look, I get that you don't like me. Most people don't. We're not friends. We're not ever going to be friends. But what did I ever do to you to deserve being under your constant magnifying glass?"

"Nothing to me, personally. But if you'd knew me, you'd know that I waste no time defending my friends when they need it, which, by the way, was why I, too, was impressed when you stood up for Ash like you did, and also when you shielded Dawn from getting yelled at this morning," she explained. "But none of that changes the fact that you are rude and mean, and that you were rude and mean to Ash, who I do consider a friend, back in Snowpoint City, where we first met. Also, Candice, the Snowpoint Gym Leader? She's my best friend. You were nothing short of nasty to her during your gym battle. I get that gym battles can be intense, and that you were upset after losing to Brandon, but that's no excuse."

"All right, I get it. I made a bad impression," Paul sighed, irked, "but I'm still not seeing your point."

Zoey huffed.

"Look. Dawn's my friend. She's very sweet, but she can also be a little naïve. Not as bad May can, but still," Zoey began calmly, "if you have feelings for her-"

"-I don't have feelings for Dawn," Paul protested, cutting her off, "and it's stupid to suggest that I do. So what? I did a nice thing for her. Believe it or not, I'm a human, and sometimes I do nice things."

"Well, I'm just looking out for her," Zoey retorted.

"I'm sure she really appreciate that, having you look out for her," he replied sarcastically. "Who are you to meddle in your friend's affairs? This is why I don't have any, because they think they know what's best for me and stick their nose into my business when I just want to do my own thing."

Zoey raised an eyebrow.

"You're awfully touchy on this subject for someone who denies he has feelings for Dawn," she said dryly. Paul clamped his mouth shut, staring at her. Zoey narrowed her gaze slightly before turning and heading back to her circle of friends. Paul lingered behind for a moment longer before he followed to collect his Magmortar.

* * *

"Iris? Are you all right?"

Cilan posed the question gently, quietly, as to ensure that the others didn't overhear. They were seated near Trip and Ritchie, and their Lampent and Charmeleon, respectively, were providing much-needed heat. Yet, she was still shivering, and she had been mute for the past hour.

When she initially didn't respond, he moved his hand to cover hers, and that got her attention.

"Iris? Are you OK?" he repeated.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Iris answered shortly. She pulled her hand away and wrapped her arms around her legs, though Cilan didn't seem offended. She returned her gaze to the flame at the tip of Charmeleon's tail. She seemed to be entranced by it, and its light reflected orange in her dark eyes.

"You've just seemed... off since we've come here," Cilan commented.

"I don't like the cold," Iris mumbled as an excuse.

"I know that," Cilan said with a nod. "But I sense that something else is deeply troubling you..." She looked at him curiously, though she was frowning. "Of course, if you don't want to talk about it, I completely understand."

Iris remained silent for a long moment, and Cilan took that as a hint to drop the subject, and he respectfully looked away. Yet, as soon as he did, Iris began speaking again, and he quickly turned his head back toward her.

"You know..." she began slowly, "... you know how you had a bad experience with a Purrloin, and that made you hate it?"

"Yes?" Cilan felt a chill run up his spine at the mere mention of the accursed Pokémon. He understood the feeling well.

"Well... I had a bad experience with the cold once," Iris continued, "and so I don't like it much."

"I see."

They left the conversation there; it was clear she didn't want to speak more on the matter, and Cilan certainly wasn't going to push her.

_**January 9th, 2002. Middle of the night. Unknown location.**_

When Mewtwo finally stirred, chaos erupted.

Before he could even become fully cognizant, the nurse keeping watch had alerted Dr. Zager of his awakening, and suddenly, there were dozens of Team Rocket grunts in the recovery room, including the two with whom he'd battled before he fell comatose, plus their Meowth.

There was a flurry of gloved hands and cold metal restraints all over him—they were reassembling the suite, he realized—and he didn't have the power to fight it in his exhausted state.

He craned his neck, knowing this was the end, but not willing to go down without a fight, and the last thing he saw was Giovanni standing over him from the glass window above, with that deplorable smirk on his face.

Then the helmet was placed on him, and after that, all he could see was red.

_**January 10th, 2002. Before sunrise. Mt. Silver.**_

Ash was drawn out of sleep suddenly, though the experience was far from violent, as it had been so many times before in the past several weeks. One moment he was asleep, the next his eyes were open and he was staring into the darkness. There was no in between. There was no hazy moment in which reality and dream were meshed together.

He sat up, rubbing his back and shivering from the cold. The insulation of his sleeping back did little protect him from the frigid hardness of the mountain floor.

Then, a strike of inspiration—perhaps mandated by forces beyond himself—turned him toward his backpack. He began rummaging through it before pulling out a flashlight. He hadn't used it much, decidedly saving it for emergencies, since his Pokémon were usually able to provide light when needed. He then flicked on the light and rose out of his sleeping bag. He patted Pikachu on the head, quickly put on his shoes, and began to head out, but he was stopped.

"Ash?" Misty's voice was tired, and Ash felt bad, thinking he might have awakened her. "Are you all right? Where are you going?"

"Don't worry about me, Mist'," he assured her with a thumbs-up and a grin. "Just need some fresh air. I'll be back soon."

It was snowing lightly outside, which made for a deceptively peaceful atmosphere on such a dangerous mountain. Ash lifted up his hand and caught a snowflake, examining it carefully before it melted away completely within a couple of seconds. He remembered one time Cilan explaining to him how no two snowflakes are alike.

"_A snowflake begins to form when a water droplet freezes onto a pollen or dust particle in the sky, thus creating an ice crystal that gathers water vapor as it descends, forming the six arms..._" Ash had stopped listening at that point.

He wandered a little bit up the pathway, not planning to go far. He couldn't see much ahead of him, even with the flashlight, and he certainly wasn't dumb enough to hike the snowy summit alone at this hour.

Suddenly, Ash's sight was alighted with visions of purple, and he dove out of the way at the last minute, narrowly missing whatever had come his way. It took him a few seconds for his brain to process that a Shadow Ball had just been hurled at him, and he felt a stone drop in the pit of his stomach, remembering May and Dawn's stories about how the mysterious Pokémon—Mewtwo—had launched Shadow Ball attacks at them.

"What the- _who's there_?" Ash called out. He had dropped his flashlight in the snow and was now searching for it desperately.

"The quality of Rocket grunts sure has gone downhill," Ash heard another male voice call out in the darkness. "_Pathetic._ I will not go down without a fight!"

"Rocket grunt?" Ash muttered, his hand moving toward his belt to grab a Pokéball before realizing with horror that he'd left them all in the cave. It wasn't like he could run back there, either. Without the flashlight to see, he was helpless.

"How many times is my father going to send Rockets after me before he realizes that I'm _not_ coming home?"

"Show yourself!" Ash demanded. His search for the flashlight was growing more frantic.

In the not-so-far distance, Ash noticed a large pair of red semicircular eyes beside the shadowed figure of another human. In a stroke of luck, Ash finally located the now-cold handle of the flashlight and jerked it up, revealing the face of his visitor.

The boy recoiled back slightly as the light shined in his eyes, and Ash let out a breath of awe as he slowly rose to his feet, recognizing the boy's vibrant red hair and silvery gray eyes, though they were squinting under the harsh fluorescence of his flashlight. The red eyes were that of a Gengar that presumably belonged to the boy.

"Hey, you're just a kid!" the boy protested, lifting up his arm. "What are you doing up here? Mt. Silver is closed during the winter. I came here to escape Team Rocket, but I never would've guessed some stupid trainer would have found me!"

Ash wasn't listening. He was struggling to find the words, struggling to grapple with the fact that this was him. This was the boy he had seen in his vision.

"What's your name?" Ash finally asked.

The boy lowered his arm slightly, letting out a long, hesitant breath that glowed white.

"Silver."

.

.**  
**

**End of Part II: The Vision  
**

.

.


	16. XIV: In Which Silver Changes Everything

.

.

**Part III: The Project**

.

.

Chapter XIV: In Which Silver Changes Everything

.

.

_**January 10th, 2002. Sunrise. Heart of the Orange Islands.**_

There was nothing. He felt nothing. He thought nothing.

There was the order, the buzzing in his ears, and that was it. This was his first true mission, and he would complete it emotionlessly. He would not do it to please his Master. He would not do it to prevent the wrath of his Master. He just would.

The peak of several small islands appeared over the horizon, the sun rising behind them. They slowly grew larger as he rapidly approached them over the vast emptiness of the ocean.

**_January 10th, 2002. Sunrise. Indigo Plateau._**

Lance's breath turned ill when he received the phone call, which roused him from his restless sleep.

The elemental trio of small islands near the cultural Shamouti Island was under attack. It was disturbingly reminiscent of events that occurred four years earlier, when Ash Ketchum, the Chosen One, saved them all but remained an unnamed figure to the world, except to the Shamouti people and the G-Men.

There was no Ash Ketchum to save them now, however. Lance realized that Leaf was right: Giovanni knew this all along, and he was now displaying a show of ultimate power above the nation, making a mockery of Lance and the G-Men.

_Who will save you now?_

"I want agents there, _now_!" Lance's voice shook with anger as he spoke into the receiver. "And contact the five members of the Orange Crew. Get them there, quickly as well. If you are a gym leader, it's all hands on deck. We will not go down without a fight, and we will protect those Pokémon from Team Rocket at all costs."

Meanwhile, Cynthia stood nearby, a hand pressed against her ear to block out Lance's yelling as she spoke into her own cell phone.

"Yes, hello?" she began calmly, though seriously. "We need a plane to the Shamouti isles immediately."

_**January 10th, 2002. Early Morning. Mt. Silver.**_

"And you let him _go_?"

"Sorry! He said he just wanted a breath of fresh air last night. I didn't expect he'd still be gone by the time I woke up again!"

Misty said this hissingly toward Paul, who, as an early riser, was the only other person awake by the time she discovered Ash was still gone. He thus was the one she went to for help in relocating him. Misty hoped to keep Leaf and the others out of this one for as long as possible to prevent any unnecessary drama, and Paul seemed to agree.

"Doesn't matter. You don't let people like Ash who have a propensity for getting themselves into trouble go wandering out alone in the middle of the night," Paul retorted. "Arceus, you're a terrible girlfriend." Misty was about to protest that statement, but before she could say anything, he shook his head and added, "Let's just hope we don't have to fish his frozen body out of the snow."

Misty clamped her mouth shut, suddenly feeling sick to her stomach. She hadn't considered that possibility, but now it seemed terrifyingly plausible. She didn't have to stew in doubt for long, however. As the two headed outside, they heard a familiar voice call out to them from above.

"Hey! Misty, Paul!" Ash was a little higher up than them, and he slid down the snowy slope to meet them. Misty let out a huge sigh of relief, but she was prepared to slap him for making her fear for his life, even if for just a couple of seconds.

"You're an idiot, did you know that?" Paul growled. "I was thinking I was going to thaw your corpse out of a block of ice when Misty said you were missing."

"Honestly!" Misty added with a huff. "Ash, you really had me scared there for a moment."

The boy rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"I'm really sorry, guys," he apologized. "I didn't want to make you worry. Seriously, I was only going to be out for a couple of minutes, but I got held up."

"Held up?" Paul looked at him suspiciously. Ash paused.

"Oh, right," he said, before looking somewhere off to right and calling out, "Hey, Silver! Come down here. The other trainers I was telling you about... I want you to meet a couple of them!"

"Silver?" Misty muttered before looking in the direction Ash's head was turned. There she saw a boy who couldn't have been any older than Ash standing a safe distance above them. From his expression, she could tell he was being cautious; he was clearly hesitant to follow Ash's promptings, and he was looking at her and Paul with distrust. Finally, though, he came down. As he went to Ash's side, his striking silvery eyes made contact with hers, and she let out an awed breath. Paul's gaze flicked over to her briefly before returning to Silver.

"Misty, Paul," Ash began slowly, his voice wavered just the tiniest bit with nervousness, though his grin never changed. "I want you to meet my half-brother."

_**January 10th, 2002. Early Morning. Indigo Plateau.**_

"The plane's here," Lance stated quickly after receiving word from an agent that the aerial craft was nearing the roof. "We should go. Have your Pokémon ready. The flight to the Shamouti isles is not long."

Cynthia nodded and rose along with her husband, Wallace, and Alder, but a disturbing thought suddenly struck her, and she sat down once again. Wallace and Alder were already gone; Steven and Lance were about to follow, but the former Hoenn Champion noticed that his wife was lingering behind and looked to her with concern.

"Cynthia?" he inquired. Lance also turned his head.

"We can't waste time, Cynthia," he said harshly. "The natural world will fall into disarray, again, if any of those Pokémon are captured. The air has already grown stormy, I'm sure, from them being disturbed."

"I can't go."

"Why not?" Lance demanded.

"I..." Cynthia's hand slid to her lower abdomen, and Steven immediately understood. Lance looked at her with a blank expression, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Cynthia, do you remember what happened four years ago? This is not-" he began before he was cut off.

"Let her go, Lance," Steven said. "We're losing time." Lance emitted a low growl from the back of his throat but went on anyway. Cynthia rose again and, retrieving one of her Pokéballs from her waist, offered it to him.

"Take him," she said. "He will listen to you."

Steven nodded, accepting the gift, before quickly leaning over and kissing her upper left temple. Then, he was gone, too.

Cynthia returned to her seat.

"_At what point does the preservation of your own child become more important than the preservation of your life, or perhaps even someone else's life? Is there a line?_"

She supposed she knew the answer now.

_**January 10th, 2002. Early Morning. Pewter City.**_

The bacon sizzled temptingly in the pan, its distinct aroma nearly seducing even Brock to cheat and steal a slice of the breakfast he was preparing for his family. He had been trying to force himself back into a routine, trying to keep his mind occupied. He had decided to take a semester off from his studies to become a Pokémon Doctor, and the sudden amount of free time was more than he could handle.

He knew it was necessary, however. The others had been talking while at the funeral; Norman, especially. Something was going to happen soon, and he wanted to be prepared to lend a hand when that time came. If he couldn't be dead with Ash in hiding, well... then he'd be alive fighting.

He just didn't expect it to happen _this_ soon.

Brock heard the background noise of the television in the living room, which he noted was unusual. His family normally wasn't up this early, and even so, they rarely watched television. Although, he supposed the television had been on a lot more often lately, seemingly set permanently to the news channel...

That's when it hit him: the news channel.

After wiping his hands and turning the stove top down to a lower heat, he headed into the next room and found several of his siblings and his parents gathered around the television set. The Shamouti isles were under attack.

His worst fears were confirmed: This was the beginning.

_**January 10th, 2002. Early Morning. Veilstone City.**_

The knocking against his door was desperate.

Still half-asleep, Reggie stumbled downstairs before heading to the door. He was unquestioning of who was there at this early morning hour; many people were still stopping by to offer their condolences for the loss of Paul, and they had been doing so for days.

Reggie, however, was surprised to see Maylene waiting on the doorstep. He quickly swung the door wide open.

"You know, you don't have to knock anymore," Reggie told her once they were inside. "We're engaged now. This house will soon belong to you, too."

Maylene didn't seem to be listening. She spun around on her heel, facing him directly.

"Have you turned on the news today?" she asked anxiously.

"No. Why?" Reggie responded, suddenly feeling much more awake. "What happened?"

"Leaf's prediction."

_**January 10th, 2002. Morning. Petalburg City.**_

"_We are live outside on Shamouti Island, which is close to the elemental trio of islands that host the three Legendary Pokémon, Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno. We have footage from this morning of a mechanical-like figure attacking Ice Island and drawing out the Articuno for battle. This is shockingly déjà vu, considering that this is the second time in less than five years that these isles and Pokémon have been under attac_k."

"_We cannot confirm at this time whether the figure is the mysterious Pokémon that attacked several gyms and a group of trainers last month, but the G-Men and their leaders have arrived on the scene to help the threatened Legendary Pokémon. We have also received unconfirmed reports that the Orange Crew of the Orange Island League are helping at the scene_."

"_I'm standing here with Melody Birnbaum, a trainer who was closely involved with the attacks on the islands several years ago. Melody, what is your take on this second assault?_"

Her answer was drowned out as Max spoke up, his voice shaking slightly as he did: "Dad? Is this what you meant when you said something bad was going to happen?"

Norman closed his eyes for a brief moment. Caroline watched him with concern.

"Yes. This is exactly what I meant."

_**January 10th, 2002. Morning. Blackthorn City.**_

"This is unreal," Solidad breathed, her eyes glued to the television screen. She was sitting beside Harley in the Blackthorn Pokémon Center, and they, along with many other coordinators who would be competing in the Johto Grand Festival, were watching the action unfold with horror. "What's going to happen if... if Team Rocket captures one of those Legendaries? I presume that's what Mewtwo is there to do."

"The same thing that happened when they were captured four years ago, I guess," Harley replied darkly. "Strange weather, unpredictable ocean waters... They say those Legendaries maintain the balance of the elements in the world."

Solidad pressed a hand to her face, inhaling deeply.

_**January 10th, 2002. Morning. Mt. Silver.**_

"You two don't look _anything_ like each other," Barry commented, taking a sip of his hot chocolate and promptly making a face at the grainy taste and lukewarm heat. They were running low on food and had been for several days now. They'd only prepared enough supplies to survive the trip to Dragon's Den; once they realized they would quickly run out of food on the longer trip to Mt. Silver, Iris and several others began collecting berries and other fruits to help them along. Little was available during the winter, however, and nothing was available on the mountain itself.

"_Half-brothers_, Barry," Dawn emphasized. "Besides, Ash has always looked more like his mom."

"I still don't get it," Drew cut in. "How did you two come to discover this knowledge anyway?"

Silver still seemed hesitant to talk. He severely doubted these trainers were with Team Rocket—in fact, he was almost sure of it—but there was something inherently suspicious of a pack of fifteen trainers striking it out on top of Mt. Silver. Himself, well, he had a reason. Ash had glossed over his, saying he 'too' didn't want Team Rocket to find them.

"You see, Silver thought I was a Team Rocket grunt that had come to find him," Ash explained. "It was just a big misunderstanding. After a while, I put two and two together and figured out that the person he was trying to get away from... was also my Dad!"

"My father, Giovanni, has been searching for me ever since I left a couple years ago," Silver elaborated, finally speaking for the first time. This prompted the intrigued stares of the other trainers, which annoyed him. He didn't like this situation; he didn't like being surrounded by so many people, sharing details that he had never openly expressed before. Nevertheless, the fact Ash was also Giovanni's son—if Ash was telling the truth—was worth further exploration. He breathed into his drink, taking a sip of it. He didn't like the taste much either, but it was as good as anything he had.

"So who is your mother, Silver? And when were you born?" Misty asked. "Sorry, I guess I'm just trying to figure out a timeline here."

"Her names was Ariana. She's dead now," Silver replied. "As for me, I was born on December 24th, 1987. And yes, I know my birthday is on Christmas Eve."

"Well, let's see..." May pressed a finger to her chin thinking. "If Ash was born on the 30th of April in '87 then... you were born just eight months after him."

"Well, it certainly didn't take him too long to find another woman after Delia left," Leaf said, tapping her fingers against the cold, rocky floor. Silver raised his eyebrows toward her.

"Does it really surprise you?" he asked. "I'm guessing you all share my opinion that he's a scumbag."

"Why, yes," Leaf said, surprised by the language, but moreso pleased by its implication, "but I'm glad to hear you think similarly. Why are you running away from your father?" Silver seemed to take offense to the phrase 'running away,' and he frowned, irritated.

"Why are you all up here on this mountain?" he retorted.

"Because we are also running away from your father," Leaf replied plainly.

Silver had already heard a similar explanation from Ash, but this time, it clicked. He suddenly sat up straight, looking genuinely surprised.

"Arceus," he began, his gaze running over each of the trainers. "You're those kids that died in that bus accident, aren't you? You're all alive?"

Leaf's smile widened.

"Bingo," she said. Silver paused for a moment, taking this new information in. He hadn't expected this, but he supposed he should have been able to figure it out earlier. _Ash_. Ash was the name of one of the trainers Wallace said had died. He looked up again.

"Wait..." he started suspiciously before doing a cursory headcount. "There's fifteen of you. Only fourteen died."

"I'm the fifteenth," Leaf explained. "I'm not dead. I just don't really exist." Silver's gaze suddenly narrowed.

"You're a G-Men agent, aren't you?" he accused. Leaf's turned her head slightly, wondering how he had known. She also took note of the nearly hostile edge in his voice.

"Yes," she dragged out the word slowly. "Why? Is that a problem?"

"So the whole thing was a hoax devised by the G-Men," Silver shook his head. "Why doesn't that surprise me?" Now it was Leaf's turn to look offended.

"What are you suggesting?" she asked.

"Look, don't get all wound up about it," Silver scoffed. "I don't trust any kind of large government institution—whether it be Team Rocket or the G-Men."

"Team Rocket is an institution of crime," Leaf protested. "The G-Men are not."

"Nuances," Silver dismissed. "They might have different purposes, and you could argue that the G-Men stand for a nobler cause, but both are just as corrupt. Lance is no more trustworthy than my father."

"How _dare_ you say that?" Leaf hissed. Gary straightened up suddenly, wondering whether he would have to actually step in to prevent Leaf from pouncing on Silver. The air had grown tense, and everyone else was listening with bated breath.

"If you're an agent—someone who's on the inside—then you certainly must be aware of all that goes on within the walls of the main office at the Indigo Plateau," Silver went on. "Don't tell me you've been brainwashed into thinking it's a nice and lovely and perfect organization."

"_No_," Leaf growled. "I know the G-Men are far from perfect. But to suggest we're somehow as debauched as Team Rocket, and to suggest that Lance is just as foul of a man as Giovanni... I won't stand behind that. I don't think there is anyone I could respect more than Lance."

"Then why did you come here?" Gary spoke up a second time. "You brought us here instead of Dragon's Den. You trusted Ash's vision more than you respected Lance's order. Some food for thought, eh?"

"Gary, whose side are you on?" Leaf snarled at him.

"Ash's vision?" Silver inquired, looking toward the raven-haired boy. Ash suddenly looked a little sheepish.

"Um... yeah... about that..." he began tentatively. "The reason I was so shocked when I first saw you... was because I had already seen you before. You see, our father recaptured a clone he created several years ago-"

"-Mewtwo?" Silver asked.

"How did you-"

"-I know about Mewtwo," Silver hastily replied. "Go on."

It took Ash a moment to recover before continuing.

"Right, well, um... He's got some sort of technology that can control him. Mewtwo, I mean. And he's been sending Mewtwo to attack all my friends and other people I know. Those are what the attacks were on the gyms and stuff. We were able to figure this out because Mewtwo was somehow... communicating with me."

Silver raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"Why would my father want you? Does it have to do with you also being his kid?"

"We don't think Giovanni knows Ash's mom was ever pregnant," Leaf explained. "But, have you ever heard of the Shamouti prophecy?"

"... The _what_?"

"Long story short, Ash is the Chosen One, and that's why your father wants him," Leaf replied. "That's my theory, anyway." Silver stared at her for a long moment. He was briefly tempted to ask her to elaborate on what she meant by Ash being the 'Chosen One,' but then he realized he actually didn't care about it.

"I don't know about that," he finally said, highly skeptical. "To be honest, I can't even begin to fathom why he would pit Mewtwo against you guys. I presume that's the reason you all set up this faked death, though, isn't it?"

"Exactly," Leaf confirmed.

"Huh," Silver mused. "Clever, I'll admit. I'll give the G-Men that. So Mewtwo, I'm guessing, showed you, Ash, me in your... 'vision?'"

"That's right," Ash affirmed. "That's why we want to talk to you. Mewtwo obviously thought it was important that I meet you. We want to help him. Is there anything you can tell us?"

Silver folded his arms, thinking.

"Like I said, I really can't tell you what my father is up to now. But, I _can_ tell you about Project Legendary."

"Project... Legendary?" Iris repeated. Silver nodded.

"It was the original cloning project my father initiated. The goal: To create the world's most powerful Pokémon," Silver explained. "It took a while to get it going, though. He needed to find the DNA of a Mew. My father first recruited some guy famous for studying Pokémon ruins. But I guess he never told him that he was a part of Team Rocket, and once the guy found out, he quit the project. My father was furious, as you could imagine. It took a while to get another researcher, but once he had him, he needed more funds. He was short from all the research he'd poured into the cloning technology, plus he was trying to build another base in Hoenn-"

"Wait." May suddenly looked horrified. "There's a base in Hoenn?"

"Yeah? It's near Shroomish Forest. And there's another in Sinnoh, on top of Mt. Coronet, too," Silver replied, annoyed that he had been interrupted. "Team Rocket has expanded way beyond just Kanto. Now do you want me to finish telling you about Project Legendary or not?"

"Sorry," May recoiled back slightly.

"Anyway," Silver picked up where he'd left off. "They needed more funding. Eventually, he found some wealthy entrepreneur who was interested, and Project Legendary was back on."

The color visibly drained from Drew's face after Silver said this, and Cilan noticed.

"Drew, are you all right?" the connoisseur asked, concerned. "You look downright ill." Suddenly, all fourteen other pairs of eyes were on him.

"Yes, I'm fine," Drew insisted, pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head slightly. "It's just a lot to take in." May frowned, and she very tentatively touched the cold knuckles of his hand resting on the ground. He might have been able to appreciate the gesture more if he weren't still trying to gather himself.

"All right then," Trip looked back toward Silver. "Go on."

"Well, Mewtwo was eventually created," Silver said this as though it were obvious. "He got away, though. Twice. I never saw him again after he escaped the first time, but my father never stopped looking for him. He eventually found him on top of Mt. Quena here in Johto. He tried to build a base there, too, but it ended up being a disaster."

"We know about Mt. Quena," Misty said. "Ash, myself, and another friend of ours named Brock helped Mewtwo escape that time. That's how we met him."

"Well, _there's_ the reason my father's after you," Silver scoffed. "Not some prophecy."

"See, that's the problem, though," Zoey said. "That's the simple answer. Giovanni's sent Mewtwo after more than just Ash, Misty, and Brock. He's been after people who have never had any previous encounter with Mewtwo before."

"Hm," Silver mused. "I see your problem then. In that case, I still really don't know. I don't know why Mewtwo sent you after me, either. I don't have anything to offer you. I'm not affiliated with Team Rocket anymore, and I don't plan to ever be again. That's why I came here. To avoid running into Rocket grunts."

"Why is your father sending Rockets after you?" Ritchie asked. Silver shrugged.

"I guess he thinks I know too much information, and he's worried I'll out him," he answered.

"Why don't you then, if you dislike him so much?" Leaf asked. "You could ruin him. You could single-handedly bring down the very organization you hate the most."

"I already told you, Ms. Agent," Silver mocked. "I don't trust the G-Men. Who else would I go to?"

The air hung thick with silence, but Ash was thinking. His breath paced just the slightest bit faster as an idea grew within him, and it kept growing until it burst at the seams and seemed like the most brilliant thing he had ever invented.

"Would you trust us?" he asked carefully. Leaf's heart stopped for a moment, and Gary broke out into an uncharacteristic grin.

"What?" Silver seemed surprised.

"You don't trust the G-Men. Fine," Ash elaborated. "But we're kids just like you. Leaf, too, even if she is a G-Men agent. There's no corruption here, or anything like that. At least, for me there isn't. I... I know I need to help Mewtwo. He's in trouble. I didn't say this earlier, but when I first woke up this morning... there was a part of me that knew he was gone. That he was under Giovanni's control again. Bad stuff is gonna happen unless someone helps him. Maybe bad stuff has already happened. Whatever the case, I know Mewtwo's counting on me, and I need to free him again."

Silver locked eyes with Ash.

"What would you have me do?"

"You said there were other bases. Where would Mewtwo be?"

Silver furrowed his eyebrows.

"Sinnoh," he answered shortly. "My father had transitioned his office from Hoenn to there by the time I left. He'd want them with him."

"If you could just take us there..."

"No," Leaf cut in harshly. "This is a bad idea. This has bad idea written all over it. It was a bad idea two weeks ago, before it was even an idea. Sixteen kids take down Team Rocket? Are you crazy?"

"You know," Cilan began quietly. "I kind have to agree with Leaf, Ash. We can't survive on our own much longer. We're nearly out of food. If we were to still maintain that we were dead..."

"We'd figure it out, somehow, Cilan," Ash argued back.

"He is the Chosen One, after all," Iris reminded the connoisseur.

"Yeah, that's nice and all," Trip interjected. "But Ash can't conjure up food or supplies to last us a journey across the whole region, much less an ocean."

"That's right," Zoey said with realization. "There's a huge body of water between ourselves and both Sinnoh. How would we even deal with that? _Swim_?"

"You're not thinking outside the box, Zoey," Gary admonished. "We've made it this far. We could figure out a way across the ocean."

The group was divided. Half were willing to put their faith into Ash and go after Mewtwo; the other half were more grounded in reality, noting the several impossibilities of the journey. After a couple minutes of argument, Ash finally had enough.

"OK, that's it," the boy said, shaking his head. "Forget I said anything. I was being selfish. I'm worried about Mewtwo, but you guys are my friends, and I need to take your safety into account, too. Besides, I... I'm sure Lance and the G-Men will find Giovanni."

Silver scoffed.

"You just keep telling yourself that, kid." He swept up his bag and started to head toward the mouth of the cave.

"Does that mean you _would_ be willing to take us to a Rocket base?" Dawn asked. Silver was silent for a while as he readjusted his backpack.

"I'm guessing you guys are headed down the mountain," he said, ignoring Dawn's inquiry, "and that you need to avoid being seen by anyone in Silver Town."

"Yes," Leaf nodded.

"Well, I know another way down. It's faster, too. Are you coming or not?"

**January 10th, 2002. Late Morning. Ice Island.**

"Dragonite! Use Hyper Beam!" Lance ordered. "Do not let Mewtwo hit Articuno!"

This was exhausting. Mewtwo appeared to have no limit; it seemed as though he could battle for hours and not have an ounce of energy wasted. Lance wasn't sure whether the suit powered up his existing abilities or simply made them more efficient. Either way, Mewtwo had already made short work of four of his Pokémon. The system he had set up could only work if they successfully managed to defend the Legendaries from Mewtwo's power.

He and Rudy were at Ice Island, currently defending Articuno from potential capture—if that was the plan, and Lance guessed it was. Giovanni wouldn't simply send Mewtwo to stir up trouble. He would want something out of it, and any of the trio of elemental Flying-type Pokémon would be an excellent prize.

Wallace, Cissy, and Luana were at Fire Island, attempting to keep Moltres from emerging and fighting for territorial right over Ice Island while Articuno was vulnerable. This was what had happened four years ago, and no one wanted it to happen again.

Steven, Danny, and Drake were at Thunder Island, doing the same with Zapdos.

Alder was at Shamouti Island, keeping a close eye on the sea in case Lugia emerged, as well as speaking the locals to learn more about the legend since Leaf wasn't around to elaborate further on her findings from several weeks earlier. Lance wished she was.

Of course, dozens of G-Men agents and other trainers who had jumped in to help were also spread throughout the islands.

"Lance!" Rudy called to the Champion. "I'm down to my last Pokémon! What_ is_ this thing?"

Lance gritted his teeth.

"Just keep fighting!"

The two trainers and several agents ducked when they heard a loud screech behind them, and Articuno flew overhead, the claws of its talons barely missing the scalps of their heads. The Legendary launched a powerful Ice Beam at Mewtwo, but he, as usual, sent it straight back.

"Rhydon, use Fire Blast to counter that Ice Beam!" Rudy quickly ordered.

The two powerful attacks met and equaled out in a haze of warm steam. Lance lifted his arm, shielding his eyes and cursing the fact that now they couldn't see a single thing. Once the mist was gone, however, Mewtwo had disappeared. The fighting had stopped.

"He... left?" Rudy questioned. "Is it over, then?"

"No," Lance shook his head. "It's not over yet. It's _far_ from over."

_**January 10th, 2002. Late Morning. Shamouti Island.**_

"The winds are getting stronger, and the sea is becoming more turbulent," Carol, Melody's older sister, commented as she lifted the curtains and peered outside at the restless shoreline. "It's just like that day, four years ago..."

Melody pursed her lips, annoyed, before standing up and slamming her hands down on the table in anger.

"Who is doing this, anyway?" she demanded, letting her temper get the best of her. "I thought I'd seen enough of disaster in my lifetime the first time this happened. Why is it happening again?"

"Melody, calm down," Carol chastised. "This isn't his fault." She gestured toward Alder, who was sitting across the table from the former Festival Maiden.

"Don't you tell me that," Melody snapped at her sister. "If the G-Men hadn't been so _careless_, then maybe Ash would still be alive and maybe we wouldn't be in this mess!" Alder closed his eyes and breathed in slowly.

"I understand the frustration, Melody." He was sure to get her name right. "But what has happened has happened. The G-Men are truly remorseful for it. We want to make it right. We want to stop this madness and maintain the balance of these islands, in the state that they should be."

"Well, I'm sorry to inform you that you can't do anything," Melody scoffed. "You are not the Chosen One. The Chosen One is dead."

"Surely there is another way."

"No," Melody growled. Carol frowned at her sister before taking a seat beside Alder.

"To tell the truth, sir," she began respectfully. "This island did not have much stake in the prophecy until Ash came along. The festival celebrations were based in old traditions that no one believed in anymore. It had just become a tourist attraction. But when Ash arrived and the events outlined in the prophecy began to unfold... then it became real. Since we heard of Ash's death, we have attempted to seek out the old traditions in which the Chosen One was... well, chosen. But they have been lost. Ash was a chance pick. He arrived at the island, and apparently by destiny, because he ended up saving us. We have no way to 'name' a new Chosen One."

"Must it be the Chosen One to call upon Lugia's loyalty?" Alder implored.

"The treasures from Fire, Ice, and Thunder Island will only respond to the touch of the Chosen One," Melody answered, calming down. "However, Lugia can and will arise to quell the fighting if he feels it's necessary. Yet, _alone its song shall fail_."

_**January 10th, 2002. Late Morning. Fire Island.**_

Luana turned her head quickly toward the sky when Moltres's anxiety suddenly doubled and he began flailing about. Mewtwo rose over the horizon, a Shadow Ball at the ready.

"It's here," she warned the others, whipping out a Pokéball. "Come on out, Alakazam!"

"Let's go, Blastoise!" Cissy called out.

"Milotic, prepare for battle!" Wallace followed.

Mewtwo wasted no time; he sent the first Shadow Ball toward Blastoise, knocking the large turtle-like Pokémon down. He then lifted the poor beast with Psychic and slammed it against a rock wall. One down.

"Blastoise!" Cissy's tough demeanor faltered briefly when she saw her trusted companion so ruthlessly tossed to the side, and she ran to attend to him.

"Milotic, use Hydro Pump!"

Milotic launched a powerful jet of water toward Mewtwo, but he calmly deflected the move, redirecting it to Moltres. Moltres screeched as the attack hit it directly, and hot steam rose from its body as water made contact with the fire on the fringes of its wings.

"No," Luana gasped. "Water-type moves are super effective against Fire-types!"

Moltres, however, quickly recovered. It shook the water off of its yellow feathers and flared its fiery wings, taking flight. Moltres then launched itself headfirst toward Mewtwo with a Sky Attack; yet, this was exactly what Wallace and the others intended to avoid.

Wallace was prepared to call an attack against Moltres and deter him from making direct contact with Mewtwo, but it was too late. Mewtwo stopped the Legendary dead in its tracks with Psychic and then physically grabbed it by the head. When his armored hands left, there seemed to be some sort of device left on its temple.

The change was immediately visible.

_**January 10th, 2002. Late Morning. Thunder Island.**_

"Look, there," Danny pointed to the sky. "Moltres is... flying away?"

Steven stopped breathing for a moment.

"No, no," he vigorously shook his head. "It's following Mewtwo. Lance was right. He was here to try and take control of the legendary birds." He immediately pulled out the Pokéball that Cynthia had given him.

"Garchomp," he called out. "I need your help!"

The Dragon-type emerged, ready and willing to obey his Master's companion. Steven quickly mounted the Mach Pokémon before turning his head toward Danny and Drake. "Drake, follow along on your Dragonite. Danny, stay here with the other agents and try to keep Zapdos from leaving to dominate Moltres's island."

_**January 10th, 2002. Late Morning. Heart of the Orange Islands.**_

The mission was completed.

He only needed one. All four, of course, might have been preferable; but he only needed one, and that was all he was going to bring back.

The sea below churned tumultuously, becoming increasingly more unstable. Yet, Moltres flew behind Mewtwo obediently, paying no heed to the warnings the natural world and his watery leader were giving. Unfortunately for him, this was unacceptable.

A whirlpool of water burst from the depth of the sea and spiraled high into the air, stopping Mewtwo and Moltres. Neither seemed alarmed, however. Eventually, the water spun out, and there hovered Lugia in all his majesty.

"_You cannot leave._"

Lugia then drew in a large breath and blasted a powerful Hyper Beam toward Mewtwo. He was easily able to dodge and retaliate with a Shadow Ball. The dark sphere hit Lugia squarely in the chest, and the Diving Pokémon fell back slightly. Moreover, the Hyper Beam had left him impermanently incapacitated, thus leaving him open for attack. Moltres took advantage and unleashed a Fire Blast.

"Garchomp! Use Flamethrower to intercept that Fire Blast!"

Lugia ducked slightly as the flames collided, resulting in a rain of embers that descended into the cold ocean water below them. He then looked to his protector: A silver-haired male riding on the back of the Garchomp. Two other trainers were following on a Dragonite and Flygon.

"Nice work, Steven," the red-haired male on the Flygon commended before his expression turned serious. "Now, Flygon, use SolarBeam on Mewtwo!"

"Dragonite, use Ice Beam on Mewtwo as well!" the other male ordered.

As both attacks were directed toward the Psychic-type clone, Steven maneuvered Garchomp toward Moltres. As he approached, he could clearly see a device of some sort on the side of the Legendary's head. When Moltres noticed the incoming Dragon-type and trainer, he unleashed a Flamethrower to keep them at bay. Garchomp dove downward to avoid the attack and, without Steven's prompting, sent a Draco Meteor attack toward the Fire-type. It was about to hit, but at the last moment, Mewtwo threw himself in front of the attack, deflecting it with a Mirror Coat.

"_I've had enough of this_." Mewtwo's voice was empty, and it was the first time any of them had heard him speak. The clone then clenched his fists together and, after taking a moment to store in his power, unleashed a blinding psychic wave of energy that forced them all back; Steven, being the closest, was knocked off Garchomp. Lugia, whose balance was still unsteady from the Shadow Ball, fell back into the water.

Garchomp swept downward and recaptured his rider. Steven grasped the back fin of the Dragon-type desperately as he attempted to regain his steadiness and continue the battle, but it was too late.

Moltres and Mewtwo were gone.

_**January 10th, 2002. Late Afternoon. Base of Mt. Silver.**__**  
**_

"Arceus, it's cold," Trip breathed, noticing his misty breath, which was unusual considering that it was still daylight. "I would have expected it to get warmer as we headed down the mountain... but it feels like it's gotten _colder_."

"It is unusual, isn't it?" Ritchie inquired, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"It's called a temperature drop. What you are describing is called a temperature drop," Silver rolled his eyes. "And it is completely normal in most weather patterns."

"... Is a 17-degree drop considered normal?" Zoey asked after looking at her watch. "It was about 31 degrees yesterday morning, when we were heading through the town. The sun hasn't set yet, and it's 14 degrees."

"What the- did it snow here?" Kenny made a confused expression.

"Doesn't look like it..." Cilan replied. "It did on the mountain, but it actually looks like some of the snow we saw early yesterday might have melted in the afternoon, while we weren't here."

"And then refrozen," Drew added, tapping his foot against a thin, but slick sheet of ice against the earth.

"Well, then I suppose I'll just leave while you are grappling with his apparent mystery?" Silver raised his eyebrows and shook his head before turning to leave. Ash's head perked up slightly when he heard this.

"You're leaving already?" he asked.

"No reason for me to stick around," Silver replied coolly.

"Other than you two are brothers?" Misty asked doubtfully, stepping in beside Ash.

"Ugh." Silver's face fell into his hand for a moment. "Look, I'm not someone who gets wound up in the cliché coziness of 'family,' if you haven't noticed. But, whatever, it was nice meeting you. Someday, I'll look back on this day and think, 'Wow, remember that one time I met my dad's other bastard child? That was cool.'" Ash's face fell slightly, clearly disappointed. Silver appeared guilty for a moment and had to look away.

"Well, good luck making it to Dragon's Den," he said before turning his back toward Ash. "Have a nice life." As he walked away, Misty lowered her head slightly and offered Ash a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Ash, I'm really sorry," she sympathized.

"Nah, don't worry about it." Ash offered her a crooked grin. "I'll be fine."

"Pika..." Pikachu nuzzled the crook of his trainer's neck comfortingly.

Leaf, meanwhile, had grown irritated with the multitude of inane comments about how 'odd' the weather was, and to put a stop to the pointless chatter, she took her laptop out of her bag and all the other extensions she needed for it. She turned the computer on, noting the low battery. It was, of course, impossible to charge the device out in the wilderness, and she had been required to use it sparingly during the journey.

"All right, all of you shut up. I'm connecting to the Internet," she grumbled. "I'm sure it's just a cold front."

It wasn't.

The first thing that came up when she typed 'weather johto region' into the search bar was a breaking news article from a national publication. Leaf didn't have to read beyond the headline: "Shamouti isles attacked in Orange Archipelago, Moltres captured." Leaf held her hand to her heart, feeling her breath leave her.

"Oh my Mew..."

"What's the matter?" Gary asked. Leaf ignored him as she jumped to her feet.

"Where's Silver?" she demanded.

"He just left..." Misty said, quirking her head to the left as she and Ash returned from the goodbye of the silver-eyed trainer.

"Where'd he go?" Leaf pressed. Misty pointed toward the grove of trees, and Leaf took off, leaving behind a group of very confused trainers. Paul then bent down to read what she had pulled up on her laptop. His dark eyes widened slightly as he did.

"Arceus..."

* * *

"Silver! Silver, come back!"

Silver paused and looked behind to see the agent running toward her. He turned to face her more fully when she met him, but he allowed her a moment to catch her breath.

"What are you doing here?" Silver asked rudely after a moment. Leaf straightened up, wiping the cold perspiration from her forehead.

"I changed my mind," she stated simply, still breathing hard.

"What?"

"I changed my mind," she repeated. "I want you to take us to the base where you think your father would keep Mewtwo."

"I thought you said it was a bad idea."

"Oh, it is," Leaf said, nodding. "There's no doubt about that. In fact, it's an absolutely insane idea. But now there are extenuating circumstances: Your father has captured Moltres. That's why there's been a temperature drop. The elements are unbalanced, as they were four years ago. Without Moltres's fire, the world will go cold."

"And how does that change your mind?"

"Because only Ash can fix it."

"Prophecy, I'm guessing?" Silver scoffed. "What if I don't want to get involved? I never told any of you I was willing to lead you to my father."

"But you are," Leaf protested. "I know there's something appealing to you about stopping your father and Team Rocket; you just don't want to go to the G-Men. Well, as of right now, you can consider me an agent gone AWOL. Please take us to him."

"How will you convince the others?" Silver asked. "Maybe you've changed your mind, but have they?"

"I'll leave the convincing to Gary," Leaf answered. "He's wanted this longer than any of us. So, what do you say?"

.

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	17. XV: In Which Solidad Looks for Answers

.

.

Chapter XV: In Which Solidad Looks for Answers

.

.

_**January 11th, 2002. Early Morning. Shamouti Island.**_

Lance had enjoyed the privilege of undertaking a variety of experiences throughout his youth and career, but speaking with a Legendary Pokémon definitely took the cake.

"I'm glad you feel recovered this morning," Lance told the beast simply. He stood near the shrine where Ash had brought the three elemental treasures four years earlier; however, the shrine was empty now, and the red tropical flowers surrounding it had wilted from the sudden cold weather. Lugia, meanwhile, hovered in the air above him, his great wings outstretched.

"_Restored or not, I cannot hope to keep the balance of the elements with Moltres missing._"

"I'm aware of that," Lance said. "We will find the man who took Moltres, and we will bring him back home. I only ask that you attempt to rein in Zapdos and Articuno. If they do not engage in a territorial fight over Fire Island, perhaps we can keep the current situation from further deteriorating. There will be others here. They will help you."

"_I thank you for that. I shall do my best; still, even if Zapdos and Articuno refrain from their instincts and instead grieve over the absence of their companion, the world will continue to grow colder the longer Moltres's flame is displaced. There is little I can do to amend that. Only the Chosen One can truly restore balance to the earth again._"

"The Chosen One is-"

"_-alive._" Lance appeared surprised for a brief moment. Lugia continued, "_I've perceived your uneasiness about this, but I know he is alive. I would have sensed it if he were gone. I do not comprehend the governance of the human world, but I understand this is valuable information that is not to be freely expressed. I will not betray your secret._"

Lance seemed relieved.

"Thank you," he said, "and when the time is appropriate, I will bring your Chosen One here, and he will restore what has been lost."

Lugia nodded before turning and diving back into the depths of the sea. Lance lingered at the shrine for a long moment in solemn silence; then, he heard the buzz of rotor blades above him. He turned to see that the helicopter had arrived.

It was time to return to the Indigo Plateau.

**_January 11th, 2002. Morning. Base of Mt. Silver._**

This was day one of a new journey.

Destination: Sinnoh.

In many aspects, it started out like any other morning for the past two weeks: waking up, washing up, eating up, packing up. Well, save the eating up. Food was so scarce that they would need to skip breakfast to have a lunch. Another difference was that now they had a sixteenth member.

Silver had relatively kept to himself, except when Leaf needed to pry information out of him in mapping out a rough draft of their journey. Ash was glad he had returned, but as before, Silver had withdrawn from him.

"Leaf," Cilan began calmly, though seriously as he approached the girl alone. The connoisseur's nose had tinted red, and he was shivering; Unova was well-known for its relatively warm weather, so the dramatic cold front was really hard on himself, Iris, and Trip. (Iris especially, considering her deep-rooted hatred for all things remotely icy.) "I'm not going to protest us going to Sinnoh to look for Giovanni, even if I am still unconvinced. But we can't move along the way we have for the past two weeks. I know we still need to keep a low profile, obviously, but... we're going to have to head into town. We need supplies. We need food. With this poor weather, we cannot hope to survive on the bearings of nature."

Leaf chewed on her bottom lip slightly.

"I know," she responded, "and we will go into town. Well, one of us we'll go into town. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. In fact, there is a very small rural settlement about ten miles west of here. We can definitely make it there tonight and stock up."

"West?" Zoey looked at Leaf strangely. Funnily enough, the five trainers from Sinnoh, a region known for its colder weather, were adjusting better than everyone else to the temperature drops. "If we head west, we're heading deeper into Johto and going toward Hoenn. We should be turning back east into Kanto so we can get to Sinnoh."

"There are more ways to Sinnoh than one, Zoey," Leaf reminded her. "Olivine City has one of the active seaports in the entire world. There _are_ boats to Sinnoh there. They leave less often than the ones to Hoenn, true, but they are still there."

"Wouldn't that just take longer? Why not go to Vermillion City if we're going to try to sneak on a boat? It's a shorter trip on land _and_ by sea," Paul pointed out.

"Look, I'm not stupid," Leaf huffed. "I have a specific reason for wanting to go to Olivine."

"... What's the reason?" Dawn asked after a breath of silence. Leaf seemed hesitant to answer.

"Well," she began slowly, before changing her mind when she noticed Silver was watching her. "It doesn't matter. Why should I explain this to you? We're going to Olivine, and that's that."

"All right, that's not going to work anymore," Paul said as he rose to his feet from the small boulder on which he was sitting. "We're not children, so stop treating us like we are. I know you think being in the G-Men gives you some sense of authority, but you are not here for the G-Men anymore. You can't just lock us out of the discussion like that. We deserve to be a part of it, especially since we're getting into this, frankly, stupid and dangerous mission. In fact, I can hardly believe I agreed to this."

"He's got a point there, Leaf," Gary smirked at her, and Leaf had to take a moment to calm the sudden flare of anger within her. Gary really knew how to push her buttons with his smug attitude, which had worsened since she asked him to talk the others into letting Silver take them to Giovanni.

"Fine then," Leaf began, though she took a moment to carefully consider her words. "Once it becomes apparent that we're not going to Dragon's Den, the G-Men are probably going to send someone to come looking for us. The agreement between Silver and myself was that the G-Men not be involved. That means neither Lance nor Giovanni can find us. So, I plan on throwing a red herring to Lance. If I make it known that we're in Olivine City and make him think we're going to Hoenn... well, that makes it easier on us, then, doesn't it?"

"And yet this is the person you respect the most?" Silver suddenly spoke up, raising an eyebrow. Leaf closed her eyes, inhaling deeply, waiting. "You... certainly are an interesting person, Ms. Agent."

**_January 11th, 2002. Late Morning. Blackthorn City._**

The unnatural weather had caused the heating units in the Pokémon Center to break down, and as a result, the building was as cold, if not colder, than the freezing temperatures outside. To compensate, however, Nurse Joy began offering trainers staying there free hot chocolate and extra blankets to warm up.

Solidad tentatively took a drink of her steaming beverage, and she was not disappointed; despite being a free service to trainers, Pokémon Centers never failed to offer first-rate accommodations. It truly was one of the better and more stable institutions supported by the league, though perhaps that had something to do with centers still being primarily operated by the Joy family.

The television was still on the news channel, and it had been since yesterday. Although the battle had ended, the coverage of the event still continued: _What attacked the Shamouti isles? Who took Moltres? How did they do it? What were the G-Men doing to get the Legendary back? How long will the cold front last? Will it ever end?_ These were the sort of questions the 24-hour news cycle danced around, exploring possible answers with the 'experts.'

"Hey, Sol?" Harley snapped his finger in front of her face, and she immediately straightened up in alarm before looking to her companion. "Sorry. You kind of spaced out."

Solidad offered him a small smile.

"I just have a lot on my mind," she said.

"Yeah, don't we all?" Harley rolled his eyes. "I'll bet anything that you're actually thinking about Drew right now, though. Am I right?"

"No, actually," Solidad answered. "Although, now that you mention it, I guess now would be a good time for my daily hour of worrying about him."

"Arceus," Harley swore, shaking his head. "I swear, you'd do anything for that kid. Hey, if you ever run into his dad again, you should push the adoption papers toward him."

"Ha ha, very funny," Solidad said, stirring her drink slightly as she spoke.

"Seriously, though: You love that kid more than you love your own biological family. Mew, you love that kid more than you love me, and that's saying a lot."

Solidad hesitated to respond for a moment.

"Well..."

"Solidad?" The pink-haired woman thought she was imagining things at first, but when both she and Harley turned around in the chairs in which they were sitting, she discovered she wasn't imagining things at all. There stood Chris Hayden behind her, though he appeared a bit more unkempt than he had at the memorial service.

"Mr. Hayden?" Solidad inquired as she slowly rose to her feet. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, _the irony_..." Harley sunk lower into his chair.

"I came looking for you," Chris answered. "You said you were entering the Johto Grand Festival, and I wanted to speak to you again."

"Why?"

Chris paused to take in a deep breath.

"I promised you that I would tell you about the night Andrew left if you told me about his life," he explained. "You held up your end of the bargain. I want to hold up mine."

* * *

Take two.

They found a heated coffee shop—many other establishments' air conditioning units had broken down as well—and managed to get themselves a little secluded table for two in the corner. This particular café was extraordinarily busy, likely because of the working heat.

Solidad ordered nothing since she'd had her fill with the complimentary hot chocolate, though Chris was sure to get his straight black coffee. Chris had offered to buy her something, but she refused. She was here to listen and ask questions, not to make pleasantries.

Once Chris had taken the first sip of his drink, he seemed to be ready to talk.

"I'm guessing you'd like an explanation for why I ran out on you last time," he began plainly.

"An explanation would be nice, yes," Solidad nodded. Chris set his coffee down.

"I... it was nothing you did," he said. "I just became very overwhelmed. The fact that Andrew was actually gone just hit me after you told me he had his ribbons for this Grand Festival but wouldn't be entering because... well, because of obvious reasons."

"I think that's perfectly understandable," Solidad said with a curt nod.

"There's more, though," Chris went on. "I felt terribly guilty, and that guilt has gnawed at me in the days since. In fact, being here, with all these other coordinators here... and knowing he isn't among them... it kills me, especially since he would have been able to compete had it not been pushed back."

Solidad frowned, feeling moved by what seemed to be true penitence. It seemed obvious from the shakiness in his voice that he was remorseful over the loss of his son, and this was the behavior she would have expected from a grieving father; not the solemn, detached attitude he had presented her with at their last meeting. Suddenly, there was a lingering temptation in the back of her mind to reveal that Drew was actually alive and well, but she pushed the thought away.

"There's nothing you could have done about that, Mr. Hayden," she assured him.

"That's where you're wrong," Chris closed his eyes. "I know you were surprised when I told you last week that I knew about the sponsor pulling out of the festival. It's true, I don't follow contests, and I don't have particular interest in them. But, I am a businessman. And I know about the sponsorship debacle because, well... I was that sponsor."

Solidad's jaw went slack for a moment in shock, but she quickly closed her mouth again.

"_What_?"

"I was the major sponsor who pulled his funds out of the Johto Grand Festival," Chris repeated. "Because I had not signed a contract yet, they legally could not disclose my name. I now realize it was a mistake. If I had never... he would have at least had the chance to perform in his last festival."

"Why did you pull out?" Solidad asked.

"There's the salt in the wound," Chris replied. "I pulled the funds out to invest in something Andrew was fundamentally opposed to. In fact, it was the very reason he left home all those years ago."

"An investment?" Solidad couldn't believe it. "What was the investment?"

Chris was silent for a moment. He took a drink of his coffee, thinking of the best way to reply to that question.

"It was a large research project," he answered quietly. "I became involved in it after it had run into some problems. The issue was that a lead researcher—Mr. Blair, I think it was?—had backed out at an integral time. The project's leader lost a lot of money for that reason. By the time a new researcher, Dr. Fuji, was recruited, there was little to fund the project. That's where I came in."

"And Drew was opposed to this?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Chris shifted slightly in his seat, visibly uncomfortable.

"He didn't think I should be spending my finances that way," he finally answered.

"All right," Solidad replied slowly, suspiciously. "I'm not sure I understand, though. Why would Drew be involved? He must have been young then. I highly doubt he would have had an interest in your investments."

"I believe I've told you before, Solidad: Andrew and I were never close. The death of his mother at a young age... it put a very deep divide between us. We fought over a lot of trivial things."

"This doesn't seem trivial to me," Solidad said doubtfully. "If it were trivial, he wouldn't have left home over it."

"I suppose it was the last straw," Chris shrugged. "That day, we had just been fighting over whether he should go on a journey. I didn't want him to; I wanted him to continue his studies. I'm sure you're aware of how smart of a boy he was. I wanted him to inherit the family business. I suppose that in addition to the investment in the project-"

"-_What was the project, Mr. Hayden_?" Solidad finally got to the point.

Chris stopped, falling silent once again. His jaw tightened slightly, and he looked straight at her with his piercing green-eyed gaze. Solidad almost recoiled back. She had forgotten how truly similar the father and son appeared.

"I'm not allowed to reveal that information."

Solidad said nothing; she had no response to that. She waited motionless at the table for a long moment before placing her hands against the rim and pushing herself back, letting out a slow, quiet sigh.

"Thank you for talking to me today," she said before standing up.

"I'm sorry that I've disappointed you."

Solidad hung her bag over her shoulder before turning to face the man directly.

"You're hiding something, Mr. Hayden. I know you don't want to talk right now, but... if you change your mind..."

"I don't think I will, Ms. Natochenny," Chris replied, straightforward.

"Well, then," Solidad sighed. "I suppose this is our last meeting."

She pushed her chair into the table, turned, and left the café without looking back.

* * *

Solidad returned to her room in the Pokémon Center. In the time she was away, Harley had somehow managed to acquire a floor heater, albeit a very old one. She wasn't sure by what means he had obtained it—it definitely wasn't from retail—but the thing barely worked with the way it sputtered and went out every couple of minutes. Still, it was the best they had, so she couldn't complain. Especially since her mind was occupied with other matters.

"I just don't know what to make of it all." Solidad shook her head, having explained her conversation with Chris to Harley. "I went looking for answers and ended up with a thousand questions."

"Well, you don't have to make anything of it," Harley shrugged. "Look, you're probably never gonna see him again. You said that yourself. So why bother?"

"You know, at first," she admitted, "I actually wanted to talk to him just fulfill my curiosity. Drew never really opened up about his father, even to me. But now I'm entrenched in this... I feel like I have to know. If it weren't for his strange behavior, maybe I wouldn't feel the need to be so nosy."

"Strange behavior?" Harley raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that, exactly?"

"Oh, I don't know, like..." She paused, thinking. "... like the way he reacted to his name the first time we met. It was like he didn't recognize it."

"Um, Sol, have you considered the possibility that this guy is lying to you and that he's not actually Drew's father?" Harley asked. "If he's such a creep, why would it surprise you?"

"I wondered about that, too, but that's impossible. Chris and Drew are mirror images of each other. There's no doubt they're related," Solidad asserted. "Besides, it's not so much that he's a creep, it's just that he's... detached. He was less so today than he was at the memorial, but still..."

"Well, of course he's detached," Harley scoffed. "He thinks his son is dead, and I think you have this idea of what mourning should look like in your head. Since he doesn't fit that mold, you're automatically dismissing the situation as weird."

Solidad was silent for a moment; he had a point there.

"All right, fair enough," Solidad conceded. "But there's still the matter that he won't tell me what project he invested in. Whatever it was, he must have felt it was important enough to pull his funds out of the festival and put them back into it."

"But even that's explainable," Harley reasoned. "Maybe he's contractually obligated not to say anything about it."

"Wow, you are playing a very good Devil's Advocate today," Solidad marveled.

"I learned from the best, hun," he saluted. "I will admit, though, that it is a little fishy. I don't know grasshead as well as you do or even care about him, but leaving home over his father's financial decisions? What sort of thing would Drew feel so strongly about that he would 'fundamentally oppose' financial investments in it? That's not a rhetorical question, by the way, I'm curious what you actually think."

"Hm," Solidad hummed in thought, scrunching her nose slightly as she did. "I... honestly can't say. I don't know his personal politics. Besides, he would've been too young to really take an interest in that sort of thing. He's really too young for it now."

"Think of it this way, then: When you were 10 years old, what sort of things were understandable and relevant enough to you that you would form a strong opinion about it?" Harley suggested.

"10-year-olds typically don't have strong opinions."

"I know. But, c'mon, you were smart when you were 10. And as much as I hate to admit it, Drew's not a stupid kid either. What sort of things did you care about?"

Solidad closed her eyes for a moment, trying to recall her 10th birthday. She celebrated it with her family in Pewter City; her father gave her a Slowpoke as a gift, saying that only a girl as bright as she was could successfully raise and train a Pokémon as dumb as it was. She left on her journey a couple of days later, taking the beloved Slowpoke with her. She didn't care that he was 'dumb.' She loved him.

"When I was 10, all I could ever think about were my Pokémon," Solidad breathed with a reminiscent smile as she opened her eyes again. "They were my best friends. They still are."

"I think that's pretty universal for most 10-year-olds, isn't it?" Harley smirked. "I mean, it is the first year you become eligible to receive a trainer's license."

"And Drew wanted to go on a journey, too," Solidad realized, blinking. "Chris said they had fought over it."

"So what's the takeaway here? What do aspiring trainers love more than anything?"

Solidad said nothing, until she realized Harley actually wanted her to answer the question.

"Pokémon," she replied finally.

"So what would an aspiring trainer hate more than anything?" Harley continued. "What did you hate more than anything?"

The answer seemed clear in that moment.

"People who misuse or exploit Pokémon," Solidad said without hesitation.

"Now we're getting somewhere." Harley grinned, putting his arms up behind his head and leaning against them. "I know I certainly despised it when I was a kid, too. Still do, of course. The point is that Pokémon abuse is pretty much universally hated, even by someone as young as 10 years old."

"You think the project might have somehow involved the mistreatment of Pokémon?" Solidad asked.

"No idea," Harley confessed. "But it's a good guess, isn't it? If I were in Drew's shoes, I know I'd be miffed if my daddy was throwing money at people who don't treat Pokémon very nicely. Hey, I might even leave home over it."

"True..." Solidad's voice trailed off slightly. "I guess that theory works in several ways actually. Chris wouldn't want me to know about it if the abuse of Pokémon were involved. In fact, it might also explain why that researcher backed out."

"What researcher?" Harley's face twisted in confusion.

"Oh, that's right. I didn't tell you," Solidad began apologetically. "Chris explained that he became involved with funding that project after a researcher dropped out. I think he said his name was Mr. Blair?"

"Blair," Harley repeated ponderously. Solidad could practically see the wheels begin to turn in his head, which, from her personal experience, could either be a very good or a very bad thing. "Mew, why does that sound so familiar?"

"It isn't exactly an uncommon name," Solidad pointed out.

"I know," Harley conceded, "but I swear I've read it somewhere recently. Hold on."

The male coordinator pulled his bag up onto his bed and began rummaging through it. Solidad tilted her head curiously, bemused by how he was suddenly so engaged in this matter. After about half a minute or so, Harley pulled a slightly crumpled printed program from last week's memorial.

"Ah-ha!" he exclaimed after opening the inside cover. "That's what I thought." He went to the other side of the room, now sitting on Solidad's bed. "Look at this at the bottom here: 'Special thanks to Mr. Blair.'"

"Well, of course!" Solidad initially didn't understand his train of thought. "That's referring to Brandon Blair, the Pyramid King. He lent the Battle Pyramid to the G-Men as a venue for the memorial, so it only makes sense that they would thank him in the program."

"You're missing the point."

"That Reggie and Paul are his children?" Solidad still wasn't following.

"Wha- Wait! I didn't know _that_!" Harley mentally stumbled.

"Didn't you see the resemblance? Add that to the fact that Reggie was so moody after Cynthia and the mothers arranged the venue and-"

"-OK, OK, fine. Still not my point," Harley shook his head. "Sheesh, for a woman as informed as you, I would've expected you'd know this."

"Know what?" Solidad was starting to feel frustrated. She wasn't used to feeling so naïve; she was normally the one leading Harley to his own conclusions.

"Brandon Blair _is_ a Frontier Brain," he answered, "but he's _also_ famous for his studies in ancient civilizations and research on old Pokémon ruins."

Solidad's breath caught, and for a brief second, even Harley seemed surprised that they had uncovered this possible connection. The male coordinator, however, cleared his throat to continue:

"If you want answers that badly," he said slowly, "you might wanna drop Reggie a line."

_**January 11th, 2002. Afternoon. Veilstone City.**_

Reggie was tempted not to answer the phone when it began ringing.

The amount of people trying to offer condolences and media inquiries had become exhausting, and he'd started ignoring his home phone only a day or two after returning to Veilstone. This was partially because he didn't have enough time to respond to every single phone call he'd received on his land line; partially because he was tired of trying to produce a suitable emotional reaction every time he talked to someone outside of Maylene.

This time, however, he felt obligated to finally pick up after ignoring the device for so many days. It ended up being lucky that he did.

"This is Reggie Rebolledo speaking," he greeted politely.

"_Hello, Reggie._" Reggie blinked, immediately recognizing the soft, easy tone of the voice on the other side.

"Solidad?" he inquired. "Is that you?"

"_Yes, it's me._"

"How did you get this number?"

"_I knew you were a Pokémon Breeder, so Harley and I went online looking for a listing in Sinnoh. I don't mean to interrupt you from anything, but there's something important I wanted to talk to you about._"

"Is something wrong?"

"_Well, I'm not sure... I actually have a bit of a mystery on my hands, and I thought maybe you could help me._"

"Shoot."

"_I should clarify, though: It's... about your father._"

Reggie immediately stiffened, his hand clutching the phone tighter. If he were an impulsive man—and he certainly wasn't—he might have hung up right then and there. He didn't want anything more to do with his father; the funeral, he had hoped, would be the cutoff. Still, Solidad was a nice woman, and he felt it would be unreasonable of him to turn her down.

After taking a quick moment to gather himself, Reggie replied resolutely, "What can I do for you?"

_**January 11th, 2002. Afternoon. Indigo Plateau.**_

"That's it," Cynthia declared, placing her hands flat on the table. "We can't waste any more time here looking through files, hoping to find something that doesn't exist."

The four Champions—and Steven—had reconvened at the Indigo Plateau to plan out their next step. Alder had just finished sharing what Melody and her sister had told him, prompting Cynthia's reaction.

"What would you suggest then, Cynthia?" Lance asked, annoyed.

"Ash," she insisted. "It all comes back to Ash. It is no coincidence that Giovanni chose the Orange Islands to attack. He knows about the Shamouti Prophecy, and he was rubbing it in our faces this morning."

"Wasn't that file classified?" Wallace asked politely. "Nobody outside of the G-Men and those who were there to personally witness the event knows Ash Ketchum was at all involved in the 1998 Shamouti islands crisis."

"Then why would Giovanni have targeted Ash and his friends? I agree with Cynthia; it's too big of a coincidence to ignore. Giovanni somehow knows," Steven said.

"We cannot with surety conclude that is the sole reason Giovanni went after Ash and company. There are a variety of factors," Lance pointed out.

"We're off-topic," Cynthia interjected. "We need to do something. This is very serious now. It always has been, but I needn't remind you that now Moltres is missing, and we haven't the slightest clue where he is."

"Yes, thank you, by the way, Cynthia, for your help yesterday," Lance muttered.

"That is not fair, Lance," Steven said firmly, the slightest tone of anger lining his voice, "and you know it."

Steven speaking up on her behalf caught Cynthia off-guard. Of course, as her husband, he was obligated to defend her, but it was rare that Steven ever grew angry. What was more shocking was that he was retaliating against Lance. Although Cynthia and Lance certainly had their disagreements, she knew Steven rarely spoken against him.

"What isn't fair?" Wallace inquired. Cynthia sucked in her breath sharply; she had not wanted it to come to this. She didn't want it to come out this way, but she supposed at this point, she had no choice.

"I'm pregnant, Wallace," she answered, her voice wavering slightly as she spoke. "Yesterday, I didn't want to risk..."

"Oh my Mew," Wallace cut in; his voice was a mix of shock and happiness for the couple. "I mean, congratulations. I had no idea..."

"Cynthia, that's wonderful news!" Alder added. "Heh, there's nothin' better than becoming a parent. No sirree!"

Lance shot Alder and Wallace an irritated look, but Cynthia let out a relieved sigh, thankful that her two other companions were understanding. Steven smiled at her.

"Thank you, I..."

"We're off-topic again," Lance said, borrowing Cynthia's previous insistence for focus. "I'm aware Moltres is gone, Cynthia, thank you. There is nothing Ash can do, though, even if he is the 'Chosen One.' Moltres is not there. Nothing can be restored if Moltres is not there. Lugia said that. The best option is to keep Ash out of this for now. We still want him away from Giovanni. I'm confident in saying the only reason—whatever the basis of the reason might be—Giovanni ordered Mewtwo to attack the Orange Islands yesterday is because he believes Ash is dead. If he finds out Ash is alive, efforts to expend him would renew."

"Fine," Cynthia gave in. "We leave Ash where he is. But we need to find that Hoenn base."

Lance suddenly stood up, and everyone watched as he picked up a box full of yellow folders and placed it at the center of the table.

"Then keep looking."

_**January 11th, 2002. Evening. Outside Birch Town.**_

"Is that all?" Leaf asked, repeatedly turning her pen over in her fingers—a nervous habit that she had picked up working in the Indigo Plateau, before she had started heading out into the field on her own. The group had arrived at its destination for the night and now had convened to draft a shopping list composed of the materials and food items they needed.

"Is mole skin on that list?" Kenny inquired. He was sitting on the icy grass with his right shoe off, rubbing his blistering heel. When he unintentionally hit a particularly sensitive area, he flinched.

"Yes," Leaf affirmed.

"Then there's nothing else."

"Great. So who are we sending in?" Drew asked. "If it were my choice, I'd pick Trip. He's the least likely to get recognized. He's never competed in a league, and he's never been outside of Unova until now. It's likely nobody knows who he is." Trip glared at him.

"That joke was not funny two days ago, and it's not funny today," he grumbled.

"Drew wasn't even there when Barry first brought that up," Iris pointed out with a coy smile and shrug. "It's just a sentiment mutually shared among us."

"Oh, and I'm sure a lot of people know who you are, Ms. Dragon Master that only has one Dragon-type," Trip sneered. Iris's playful expression vanished and was replaced with irritation.

"Geez! Don't be such a kid about it! I meant it in jest, and it's true anyway," she retaliated. "I actually am known better than you, too. I won the Club Battle Tournament, while you lost the first-"

"-Knock it off, you two," Gary cut in, rolling his eyes.

"Yes, all this bickering leaves a bad taste in my mouth," Cilan agreed.

"No kidding," Silver scoffed. "You guys are awful to one another. How did you all manage to make it to Mt. Silver if you can't go without fighting for five minutes? Arceus. I thought you were friends."

Iris and Trip immediately backed down from each other, and both appeared a little guilty.

"_No one_ is going in," Leaf finally responded to Drew's inquiry. "No human, at least."

"No human?" Ritchie tilted his head slightly.

"We'll send a couple of our Pokémon into town with the shopping list. We can't risk sending one of us in," the agent elaborated. "Pikachu, Axew... probably something larger that can haul around a large amount of groceries easily. Maybe your Torterra, Paul. The others can hang the bags from his branches."

"... You've got to be kidding me," Paul murmured. "That seems like a potentially terrible idea. Why doesn't Silver just go instead? He doesn't have to pretend to be dead."

"No." Silver promptly shook his head. "Not happening. I'm not going to be dragged into your business. I'm taking you to the base in Sinnoh, and that's the extent of it."

"Come on!" Barry egged him. "Don't be unreasonable, or I'll have to fine you!"

"Arceus, you're irritating. Has anyone ever told you that?" Silver groused.

"Hey, step off," Kenny warned him, staggering to his feet again in the defense of his fellow Twinleaf friend.

"Silver, remember how you criticized us for fighting all the time?" Leaf sighed as she beckoned for Ash's Pikachu to join her. The Electric-type willfully jumped to her shoulder without any reservations, and Iris's Axew, having heard his name called, popped out of his trainer's hair and approached Leaf to see what was required of him. "This is why. Stop provoking one another."

Leaf then proceeded to give Pikachu the shopping list, instructing him and Axew to ask a human in town to assist them with receiving the groceries. Both Pokémon happily agreed to help. Paul then begrudgingly took out Torterra's Pokéball and released him, and Leaf repeated the instructions to the Continent Pokémon with the added plea to let them hang the bags containing their goods from his branches. Torterra seemed all right with the plan as well.

Thus, Torterra began ambling down the hill and into town with Pikachu and Axew settled on the top of his shell. The trainers saw them off until they became a mere speck in the distance.

_**January 11th, 2002. Evening. Birch Town.**_

"Come on, Lyra!" Khoury groaned. "We've been here forever. It's getting late. Let's just get what we need and go." The boy's feet were practically dragging behind him as he followed the Johto trainer down the general female products aisle. He scrunched his nose slightly when they passed by the shampoos and perfumes, their smells being pungent enough to escape their containers.

"Don't be such a bore," Lyra admonished. "We haven't been here that long."

"Feels like forever."

"You just don't like shopping." Lyra rolled her eyes before picking out a package containing a pink tube of mascara from the shelf. "Ooh, I've always wanted to try this brand!"

"Maybe I should just go to the Pokémon Center now," Khoury sighed, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I'll see if I can get us a room."

"Oh, good idea!" Lyra grinned. "Then you can stop being a Debbie Downer, and I can shop for as long as I want _in peace_."

Now it was Khoury's turn to roll his eyes.

"OK, I'll see you later then." He waved her off as he left.

"Bye-bye!" Lyra waved back, though she didn't look up as she read the back of her prospective mascara package.

After Khoury left, Lyra spent several more minutes perusing the shelves to her heart's content, when suddenly, she heard a commotion of sorts at the front of the store. Her curiosity got the better of her, and she left the aisle and headed toward the entrance to find that a Torterra, Pikachu, and Axew had all entered the business.

Lyra's first reaction was confusion: _What were these Pokémon doing here?_ A trainer, she realized, must have sent them. Axews were endemic to Unova. A wild one wouldn't just wander into a store with its buddies. Her second reaction was one of thrill from actually seeing a genuine Unovan Pokémon with her own two eyes.

"Oh, wow!" she giggled, approaching the trio. "Aren't you guys a motley crew? What'cha doin' here?"

Pikachu immediately folded his ears behind his head, appearing to be quite shy. Lyra looked at the creature strangely and felt confusion rise within her again when she realized this particular Pokémon looked familiar.

"Hey, have we met before?" she asked Pikachu.

"Pika Pi," Pikachu insisted, waving his hand in a downward motion.

"Oh... Sorry, I just thought you looked... but that's crazy because..." Lyra quickly shook off the bit of sadness that had seeped into her voice. "Anyway, what's this you've got here?"

Lyra plucked the shopping list out of Pikachu's hands, her eyes scanning over it.

"Phew!" she whistled. "That's an awful lot of stuff. Your trainer must eat like a Tepig!"

"Axew!" The Dragon-type was willing to go along with that explanation.

"So, I'm guessing you guys need some help!" Lyra smiled, fanning herself with the list. "Well, you just happened to run into the right girl!"

_**January 11th, 2002. Evening. Outside Birch Town.**_

"OK, they've been gone for an hour now," Iris breathed out. "I'm officially nervous. It shouldn't be taking _this_ long to get all the stuff we need, should it? My poor Axew... He's still just a baby, you know!"

"It was a long list," Cilan said, attempting to assuage her fears.

"Yeah, not to worry, Iris!" Ash glanced over his shoulder and grinned at her before returning to his watch. "In fact, I think I see 'em now... Yup, that's definitely them. Ha, Torterra looks like a Christmas tree with all those bags... wait. Is that... ?"

"What's the matter, Ash?" Misty asked him.

"It looks like someone's with them," he informed her, though his eyes never left their visitor.

"Someone is... ?" Leaf suddenly jumped to her feet, letting out a nervous chuckle. "All right. Why did they bring back a trainer? Didn't they realize that's why we sent them? So we wouldn't have to interact with any people?"

"Lyra!" Ash exclaimed with realization, ignoring Leaf's ramblings. "That's who it is: Lyra. I _thought_ I recognized her."

"I don't care who it is," Leaf hissed at him. "Just don't let her see you. Come on!"

She gestured for the entirety of the group to follow her deeper into the foliage.

"Wait, hold on." Silver turned to Ash. "Did you say _Lyra_?"

"Yeah," Ash nodded. "She's a trainer from here in Johto. Dawn and I met her while we were traveling through Sinnoh-"

"OK, didn't need the background story," Silver grumbled. "Don't worry. I'll cover for you guys."

"I thought you said you didn't want to be involved?" Gary quirked an eyebrow at him, though he was smirking.

"Just shut up and get in the bushes," Silver growled.

As the others settled themselves out of view, Silver went to greet their intruder. Lyra seemed to pause with shock when she saw Silver, her eyes widening slightly. He stopped, too, watching her carefully, waiting.

"Silver? Is that you?" she breathed in awe.

"They know each other?" Dawn said in surprise, but Zoey was quick to gently hush her.

Before Silver could give any sort of confirmation that she was, indeed, talking to him, she let out a delighted giggle and continued, "It _is_ you! Gosh, it's been forever since I last saw you! Where have you been? What are you doing in Johto?"

"I never really left," Silver shrugged.

"Then how do you have an Axew? And a Torterra? I presume these are your Pokémon, right?" Lyra asked. _**  
**_

"They are." Silver's eyes shifted slightly when the bushes behind him rustled.

"Then how do you have them if you've never really left Johto? Axew are only found in Unova, and Torterra are only found in Sinnoh. And even Pikachu are pretty rare outside of-" She paused, her eyes widening again. "Oh no, you didn't steal them, did you?"

"_What_? No!"

"Well, you can't blame me for wondering," Lyra huffed. "You do have a bit of a history, after all."

"What do you want, Lyra?" Silver sighed, frustrated. "Why did you follow my Pokémon out here? I sent them into town for a reason, instead of going in myself."

"'Cause you forgot to give them something to pay for that humongous shopping bill!" Lyra laughed as though it were all a joke, and Leaf might have slapped herself in self-disdain for her mistake if it weren't for the fact that they were hiding. The agent sank closer to the ground, letting out a long sigh. "I was hoping I could get some compensation from their trainer, and you just happened to be that person!"

"Oh, _silly me_," Silver muttered callously, glaring back at the area where Leaf was supposed to be hidden.

"What are you looking at?"

"Nothing. How much do I owe you?" Silver reached into his backpack, pulling out his wallet.

"Eh, about $200 and we'll call it good," Lyra shrugged. "I'm just glad you're all right. I can't help but worry about you, you know! Khoury thinks I'm stupid for thinking about you, but, well, yeah..."

Silver's lower lip twitched.

"So you're still traveling with Khoury?" he asked bitterly.

"Of course, we're like best friends," Lyra said with a wave of her hand.

"Yeah..." He shoved a stack of bills into her hand. "There. Debt paid. You can go now."

Lyra appeared surprised by the hostility in his voice.

"Silver..." she began in a noticeably gentler tone. "What's the matter? You seem kind of jumpy. And why do you have so much food, anyway?"

"I'm going away for a while."

"Again? Silver, where-"

"Arceus, Lyra," Silver snapped. "It's none of your business. Just leave me alone. Thanks for helping out my Pokémon, but I don't want you hanging around here!"

Lyra took a step back, flinching as though she'd been slapped across the face.

"Fine!" Her own anger flared up. "Sorry for _caring_!"

She promptly turned on her heel and stormed away, never looking back. Silver slid his hands into his pockets and turned the other direction, heading back toward the other trainers, who were re-emerging with Lyra's leave. No one seemed sure about how to react to the nasty spat they had just witnessed.

"There's your food," Silver attempted to break the tension, pointing to Torterra. "You happy now?" Leaf frowned.

"Silver, I... I'm very sorry..." she said. He had to turn away; he couldn't face her.

"Why apologize? No damage here," he responded coldly before stalking off.

_**January 11th, 2002. Evening. Veilstone City.**_

After Reggie's conversation with Solidad ended, Reggie had to invite Maylene over to talk him down a cliff. Or over the cliff. He wasn't sure which metaphor he should be going for, and Maylene wasn't giving him a clear answer, perhaps, because she didn't have one to give.

"What if... what if he was involved somehow?" Reggie wondered aloud, pacing the room. Maylene was observing him from the sofa with concern; she had seen him in the rare moments when he lost his relaxed demeanor and became upset, but this was unlike anything she'd ever seen before. "I just don't know what to think. Solidad said that Drew's father told her he dropped out of this project. Then again, we don't even know if he's talking about the same Blair. Geez..."

Reggie had been talking himself in circles for a while now, and Maylene wasn't sure when would be the appropriate time to interject her own opinion. He had yet to reach any sort of conclusion, and she knew this sort of obsessive anxiousness over the problem wasn't healthy.

"Well... there is only one way you can know for sure..." the Fighting-type gym leader began tentatively, but Reggie shook his head.

"No. No, I don't to call him," he insisted. "I wanted the memorial to be the end of it. That's why I went in the first place, so Brandon and I could have some sort of closure..."

"Reggie, I don't think your and Brandon's conversation comes anywhere close to counting as 'closure,'" Maylene sighed. "Did you get the last word? Maybe, but it didn't resolve anything. In fact, this, your behavior right now, is proof that you never had closure."

Reggie paused for a long moment.

"You're right," he said finally before sitting beside her, running his fingers through his hair. "I just... I don't know what to do."

"Do you want to help Solidad?"

"Yes. I don't know her and Drew and that whole situation very well, but... well, from what she told me, it is suspicious. And it's worth investigating; not just for her, but for me, too."

"There's your answer, then," Maylene said, rubbing his shoulders affectionately. "You want to know. _You_ know you want to know, and _you_ know how to find out."

Reggie was silent. Maylene turned his head slightly toward hers.

"It won't be the end of the world if you talk to your father. I promise," she said before pecking him on the lips. Reggie smiled when she pulled away, finally calm.

"You have a way for making me feel stupid sometimes."

"I don't mean to."

"I know you don't." He stood up again. "You're right again, as usual. There's only one way this can be solved."

He began walking into the next room over, the room with the videophone. Maylene cautiously followed, waiting in the doorway as he lifted the phone off its hook and dialed the number. A set of three rings followed, each growing more tense than the last.

Finally, Brandon picked up. The shock on his face was immediate.

"Reggie!"

"Father," Reggie addressed him cordially. "I need to talk to you about something, and I need you to be perfectly honest with me."

Brandon's expression darkened; he seemed to already know where this conversation was headed.

"Anything, son," he replied without hesitation. Reggie inhaled deeply.

"There was a project," the breeder began plainly, getting straight to the point, "and you might have been involved in it. I don't know what it was; that's what I need you to tell me. I literally don't have any specifics on it, other than it would have been more than five years ago, and that you had left it early on."

Brandon said nothing for a long moment, and Reggie, his patience abnormally thin with the tense atmosphere, was about to throw in the towel and hang up; he could still declare he tried to Solidad, without ever having to deal with repercussions. However, at the last moment, Brandon spoke:

"We should talk about this in person."

_**January 11th, 2002. Evening. Outside Birch Town.**_

"Hey."

The urge to snap at Ash to leave him alone came on strongly. Instead, however, Silver merely shot the boy a quick glare and turned his back toward him, hoping he'd get the message. He didn't. Ash sat beside him anyway.

"What do you want?" Silver grumbled.

"Just wanted to talk," Ash replied with a shrug. He reached up to his shoulder to scratch Pikachu behind the ear. The Electric-type let out a hum of contentment in response. Silver watched the affectionate gesture unfold from the corner of his eye, but once Ash noticed, he turned away again.

"I'm not in a talking mood."

Ash frowned.

"I just wanna cheer you up. I can see you're upset from your fight with Lyra..."

"Yeah, well, that's none of your business. I don't care that you're my brother." Silver abruptly stood up. "Look, you're a nice kid. People look up to you. But I'm not here to be buddy-buddy with you. I'm here so I can take down my father. Stop trying to act like this is some grand, emotional reunion, and stop trying to make up for lost time. I'm not interested."

* * *

"Ugh, tonight's going to be the best we've eaten in days." May was practically watering at the mouth, just thinking about what Cilan could have in mind for dinner that night. She and Drew were off collecting wood with which to make a fire to cook. Drew rolled his eyes, but his lips curved into something caught between a smirk and a smile.

"That drool is _really_ attractive, May," he commented dryly. She let out a squeak and lifted her hand to wipe the alleged saliva away, but she found there was nothing there.

"Where-"

"I was kidding, May. I might as well have been serious, though. What is it about you and food?"

"You jerk." She hit him in the shoulder with her free hand, though she was giggling. "You made me look stupid!"

"Trust me, you don't need any help doing that."

"Ha ha. You know, Drew, sometimes I wonder why we're even friends."

He couldn't help but mentally stumble whenever she called him that. 'Friend.' Not just a rival, but a friend. Someone who could be trusted, appreciated, loved even. He'd never grow tired of her saying it, and she'd been repeating the word a lot more recently.

"Because I'm devilishly handsome and have a sharp wit," Drew jested once he'd recovered.

"You're so full of it."

"Ouch. That hurts, May. It really does."

She started laughing again, and this time, he broke into a full smile—enough for the small, shallow dimples in his cheeks to make a rare appearance.

"You know," May started after a long moment, "I really like it when it's like this between us. When we're not in rival-mode and constantly trying to one-up each other and get each other riled up for competition."

"Well, that last part's just me." Drew flicked his hair. "You're really easy to get going competitive-wise. One tiny criticism, and it makes for a very fun match between you and I. I still win, of course, but it's more of a challenge."

"I'm being serious," May said. "I think with us not competing in the Grand Festival tomorrow and us being out here... alone, especially... you've definitely loosened up. I have, too. It's kind of nice."

She was smiling again, and her button nose became slightly wrinkled. Drew suddenly felt a pang of nervousness that he'd never really experienced around May before. He was almost always the one in control, but that comment had thrown him for a loop. Especially her ambiguous emphasis on the 'alone' part. Was that supposed to be an invitation? She _was_ smiling at him. Then again, May was infamous for her total obliviousness. It was completely within the realm of possibility that she had unintentionally made a suggestive remark, and she just wasn't realizing how flustered that was making him.

He didn't want to let this opportunity go to waste, though. So, he decided to test the waters. Both his and her arms were full of wood, so the best he could do was take a step closer to her and start to lean in. Her eyes widened with shock, and this was proof enough that his hypothesis was correct: She hadn't meant to draw him in for a kiss. Drew was prepared to back off and act as though she had imagined it, but her realization was quickly followed by compliance. Her eyes fluttered closed. She was going to let him to do it anyway.

Oh boy.

He was close now. He could feel her anxious breath tickling his skin, which brought him immeasurable satisfaction—and he hadn't even made contact yet.

"-_Yeah, well, that's none of your business. I don't care that you're my brother. Look, you're a nice kid. People look up to you. But I'm not here to be buddy-buddy with you. I'm here so I can take down my father. Stop trying to act like this is some grand, emotional reunion, and stop trying to make up for lost time. I'm not interested._"

May and Drew jumped back from each other before anything could happen. A few of the sticks May had collected for firewood tumbled out of her arms and, red-faced, she hastily bent down to gather them back up. Drew, meanwhile, looked to where he'd heard the commotion. On a small cliffside above them, Silver had stood up and stormed off, leaving behind a very dejected-looking Ash alone with his Pikachu. Drew narrowed his gaze slightly and let out a long, misty breath.

"W-Well, I suppose I should be off to camp then!" May chuckled nervously after she had pulled herself together and stood back up. Drew cast her a quick glance, disappointed but understanding that Silver's disruption had dissolved the intimate atmosphere.

"Yeah, go ahead," he told her begrudgingly, knowing he wouldn't get another opportunity with May that night. "I'll catch up with you later."

She nodded quickly and hurried off. Drew turned again toward the cliff and, after a long moment, set his pile of wood down.

_**January 11th, 2002. Evening. Unknown Location.**_

"He truly is magnificent, isn't he?" Giovanni circled the caged Moltres. His great, flaming wings—though the fire had grown dim—were folded at his side, and his head hung low, as though he were sleeping. The flashing device Mewtwo had attached to his neck was still fixated upon him.

"Indeed," Dr. Zager nodded. "I must confess, though, I am surprised that the miniature form of the Meloetta-based technology works on him, when Mewtwo requires much more intrusive armor. I suppose you were right about that."

"Of course," Giovanni turned to face the scientist. "Mewtwo is not like other Legendaries."

He brushed past Zager, heading toward the other side of the room, where Mewtwo was contained.

"His power lies in his will," Giovanni continued. "It is unlike anything I have ever seen before, and I have underestimated it time and time again. Even now, with him under our thumb, his will shines through. He obeyed, but he still resists. I desired all four. I only got one."

"Will you send him back, then?" Zager asked.

"No, that's not necessary," Giovanni shook his head. "The more we send out Mewtwo, the more we risk the G-Men catching onto our trail. Besides, Moltres is sufficient. Step outside, and you can feel it yourself. As we descend further and further into an endless winter, the will of the nation will dwindle. They will beg me to be their leader, to share Moltres's warmth. Lance will beg. This I am sure."

"How?" Zager asked.

"Human will, I'm afraid, is much weaker than Mewtwo's," Giovanni smiled, sounding scarily pleasant. "This is why it is essential to have him. Whoever has the strongest will, wins."

_**January 11th, 2002. Evening. Outside Birch Town.**_

"You know, you're just _asking_ to get hurt."

Ash whipped his head around to find Drew approaching, his hands in his pockets. Pikachu hopped off his trainer's shoulder, watching the male coordinator warily. Ash, however, appeared confused. His first instinct was to ask why Drew was talking to him—and if he had better senses, he might have guessed it was to put him down in some way—but, as always, the raven-haired trainer gave the benefit of the doubt.

"Heh, I guess you heard my and Silver's conversation..." he said sheepishly after realizing what Drew was referencing. Ash's relaxed demeanor seemed to ease Pikachu a bit, too, but the Electric-type still remained alert.

"You interrupted something very important for me, so yes."

"Interrupted what?"

"Never mind." Drew shook his head. "We're not talking about my issues. We're talking about yours."

"Wha... ?" Now Ash was definitely confused; he was entirely unsure of what Drew was trying to get at.

"This is what I like to call an 'intervention,'" Drew explained as he took up residence beside Ash, who was now sufficiently weirded out. Was Drew trying to be... nice to him? But that made little sense. Even he knew the only two people who could perhaps beat out May's rival out for the Disliking Ash the Most Award were Trip and Paul; granted, Paul had unexpectedly stood up for him less than a week earlier.

Which brought up another interesting point: Why were his supposed 'enemies,' for lack of a better word, suddenly making 180-degree turns and trying to help him out?

"You need to back off of Silver," Drew continued. "If you don't, you're going to get burned."

Ash stared at Drew for a long moment, and after a while, the coordinator simply quirked an eyebrow and asked, "What?"

"Um... not that I don't appreciate you apparently trying to look out for me, but..." Ash began slowly, "why are you?"

Drew paused long enough to run his fingers through his hair, thinking.

"Because I _get_ you," he answered finally.

"I've always been under the impression that you've never really liked me."

"I'm not saying I like you; I'm saying I _get_ you," Drew corrected. "I've seen this before. Our... situations are more similar than I care to divulge. Sufficient to say, I know _exactly_ what Silver is feeling right now, especially in regards to you. He's been running away from his father for a long time, and as a result, he's not willing to open up to people, even to people who care about him a lot; and you obviously care about him because he's your half-brother. I can promise, though, he will open up. But, it will take a long time. If you try to force it on him, he'll withdraw further into his shell. He'll come to you, eventually."

"How do you know all this?"

"Personal experience," Drew replied with a shrug.

"What does that even mean, though?"

"If I can't even talk to May about it, then I'm certainly not willing to tell you," Drew said with a flick of his hair.

"Right, sorry for prying," Ash apologized. He drew his legs a little closer to his body, feeling the cold. He hadn't been keeping up with exact numbers, but temperatures were noticeably continuing to fall at an alarming rate, even since yesterday. Pikachu hopped onto his lap, curling up.

"I hope you'll forgive me if I do the same then," Drew spoke up suddenly, catching Ash off-guard. The Pallet trainer looked up at the coordinator, bemused, but nodded to let him know it was OK to proceed.

Drew opened his mouth slightly, but no words came out. He closed it again before making a second attempt:

"Are you... the Chosen One?"

Ash blinked. Once. Twice. Three times. He looked away, then back at Drew. Then he looked away again.

"I... uh, why are you asking?"

"Everyone across the whole nine yards—from your friends to higher-ups in the G-Men—have speculated and, at least here, continue to speculate about whether that Shamouti prophecy is true or not. But you... you haven't said anything about it. Never an affirmation or denial. I just think it's interesting, considering this is _you_ we're talking about, and you've completely locked yourself out of the conversation."

Ash glanced down at his feet. He kicked the dry, cold dirt with his heel.

"To be honest," he began quietly, "I... I don't want people to know. If they know I am—even if they think I am—then I might let them down."

It wasn't quite the answer Drew expected; nevertheless, the roundabout, metaphoric reply rang a resounding 'yes,' and that shook him.

.

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	18. XVI: In Which May, Paul, and Dawn Fall

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Chapter XVI: In Which May, Paul, and Dawn Fall

.

.

_**January 12th, 2002. Late Morning. Near the Battle Pyramid.**_

"Thank you, again, Brock, for picking us up from the airport," Reggie said sincerely from the back seat of the former Pewter City Gym Leader's car.

"Don't worry about it," Brock said, though his eyes never strayed from the road ahead of him. The asphalt road had ended, and he had decelerated significantly as they strayed further away from the commercial path and moved onto the gravel.

This was now the fourth time he was headed toward the Battle Pyramid at this location, the last time being the memorial. Brock had been partially surprised when he heard Brandon had offered it up; the Battle Pyramid was meant to be a secret location. Only trainers who had earned six of the seven Kanto Battle Frontier symbols were given the knowledge of its whereabouts. By opening it up as a public venue, Brandon had ruined its mystique and would probably need to move the pyramid away from its typical settlement just outside of Pewter City. As such, Brock didn't understand why Brandon would have offered the battleground up as a venue—Brandon admired Ash, but Brock never thought it was that deep of an attachment—then he realized that Ash was not even a part of the equation. It had everything to do with Paul.

Late last night, when he received the call from Reggie requesting that he pick he and his fiancée up from the Viridian City airport, he was surprised but nevertheless willing. He supposed it was a case of good karma—the 'what goes around, come around' kind of deal. Solidad had been an escort for him in a time of need; therefore, he could do the same for Maylene and Reggie, both of whom he liked well enough.

This morning, however, he'd been filled in on the details as to why Reggie was heading back to the pyramid, and it had Brock's head spinning. A drop-out researcher. A mysterious project. A wealthy businessman. Two distant fathers. It was a lot to process, and Brock ended up finding strengthened faith in the concept of karma. Solidad, ironically, was involved in this, too, and he was indirectly helping her by lending Reggie and Maylene a hand. It was funny how things worked out that way.

"What are you hoping Brandon—er, your father—will tell you?" Brock asked. Reggie paused, running his fingers through his hair as he thought over his response to that question.

"I don't know," he answered finally. "I'm not sure I want to know what he has to say, honestly. I've kind of been sucked into this, though."

"We all have," Maylene added. "First Solidad, then Reggie and myself, and I'm sure you now feel invested in this, too, Brock..."

"What do you mean?" Brock asked. The Veilstone Gym Leader shrugged.

"I just... I don't know," she hesitated, "but I don't think it's a coincidence we're finding all this odd information about—what's his name again?—Chris in connection to Brandon. Especially since both Paul and Drew are with Ash and the others, as an apparent result of being targeted by Team Rocket. You care about Ash, so I would imagine you also would want to know more."

She was right about that, though Brock didn't verbally confirm it.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to see what my father says," Reggie mused.

Suddenly, the tip of the Battle Pyramid loomed in the distance. They came upon it very fast, and Maylene turned and watched the traces of anxiety grow in her fiancé's expression as the structure came into sight. She knew this was hard for him; he had spent so many years trying to be strong for Paul, wearing a happy face, setting the example by abandoning his father's stipulations and following his own dreams. She knew the last thing he wanted was Brandon back in his life; not so much for himself, but because he didn't want him in _Paul's_ life again... when he returned home.

Brock parked the car in front of the pyramid and switched off the engine. Reggie was the first to exit. Maylene followed shortly thereafter. Brock stayed put and had planned to do so, until Reggie ducked his head back into the car and asked, "Aren't you coming?"

* * *

The tension in the room was definite. Brock cast Maylene a quick look, and she looked back. They both felt it. This was an odd experience for Brock; he'd always viewed and respected Brandon as a wise and powerful trainer, a Frontier Brain. He had never looked beyond that into the struggles of his personal life and in the personal lives of the sons Brock never knew Brandon had. It gave whole new meaning to the battle he'd witnessed between Paul and Brandon.

"Why did you want to meet in person?" Reggie attempted a civil tone when he saw his father.

"To protect you," Brandon replied bluntly. "I can't lose another child." Reggie was briefly caught off-guard, but he quickly regained his wits.

"What do you mean?" he asked. Brandon didn't reply for a moment, looking pointedly at Maylene and Brock.

"They stay," Reggie insisted.

"How many people are involved in this?" Brandon asked.

"Just myself, Maylene, Brock, and a coordinator named Solidad. She's the one who discovered the existence about this mysterious project."

"How?"

"She looked after a boy whose father was involved. She suspects you might have been involved, too, and I agree with her," Reggie explained. "You didn't answer my question. What do you mean by 'protect'?"

Brandon sat on the edge of the stands for the battlefield.

"This was what I wanted to tell you at the memorial," he began. "I know you might not believe me, but I've always been trying to protect you and Paul. Don't give me that look, Reggie. Let me finish."

Reggie frowned, but he cleared his throat and nodded, listening.

"I believe the project your coordinator friend is referring to is called Project Legendary," Brandon continued. "And she's right, too. I was involved in it. _Was_."

A beat of silence followed. Reggie seemed cautious; he still wasn't saying anything, waiting for his father to explain himself with bated breath.

"What was Project Legendary?" Maylene asked.

"I wasn't given the full details," Brandon admitted. "From the beginning, that fact alone—the fact that they were being so secretive—had me suspicious. They wanted to recruit me to study some newly discovered ruins, where they believed Mew once resided and was worshiped. They wanted information. They said they were studying her, and they wanted me to help since I was coming into my own as a researcher of Pokémon ruins. Specifically, they were hoping to find some sort of fossil or biological remnant of Mew."

Brock inhaled sharply. _Mew_. He knew then; he didn't know if Maylene and Reggie were sure, too, but he was.

"If you were suspicious, why didn't you turn away?" Reggie asked.

"They were going to pay me handsomely," Brandon confessed, "and I needed the money for your mother. I'm sure you realize she was very sick. Her mind was degenerating; she was losing her grip on reality. I wasn't as financially well off then as I am now. I wanted to get her good psychiatric help, which I couldn't afford at the time. I didn't want to leave you and Paul alone with her, but I had no choice. I accepted."

"Why did you drop out then?"

"More than a month into my research—it disgusts me to think they had me fooled for that long—" Brandon shook his head. "—I needed new tools. I had worn mine out. I requested new materials. They gave them to me, but someone somewhere must have made a mistake. One of the instruments had a 'TR' branded in red on it."

"The mark of Team Rocket," Maylene breathed, looking quickly to Reggie.

"Exactly," Brandon nodded. "I found out then that I was working for Team Rocket. I was so ashamed of myself, so angry. I immediately withdrew my services. I suppose their leader didn't like that; I knew too much, but he knew he couldn't hurt me. I was a Frontier Brain. They'd never get close. But..."

Brandon closed his eyes, looking pained.

"... they struck elsewhere."

"Mom," Reggie realized with horror.

"You know how she was," Brandon went on. "She wasn't in her right state of mind. They threatened her. It was too much, and I was certain you and Paul would be next. They were using you as bargaining chips. If I didn't tell anyone, they wouldn't hurt you. That wasn't good enough for me, though. I wanted to be safe. That's why I put as much distance between myself and you two. That's why I asked you to change your name. That's why I forced you move far away to Sinnoh, to Veilstone City. That's why I wanted you to only be close to me again when you could defeat me. Then I'd know that you could defend yourself."

This information was clearly overwhelming for Reggie. He sat down, too, burying his face in his hands. Maylene sat beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I was wrong, though," Brandon's voice unexpectedly cracked. "You were never safe. They got to Paul anyway. It's my fault."

"Paul's alive."

"_What?_"

Reggie slowly lifted his head; Maylene and Brock were watching him, shocked he had so candidly revealed the secret they had sworn to keep.

"It's all fake," Reggie explained. "It's not just Paul. They're all alive. Lance is trying to protect them. They should be in Dragon's Den now."

"Why?" Brandon's expression was a mix of shock and incredible relief. When Reggie struggled to gather his thoughts and turn them into words, Brock stepped up.

"We're not entirely sure," he explained. "Ash is somehow involved, and Team Rocket is somehow involved. And Mew... it's the same project. Project Legendary. Team Rocket created a clone called Mewtwo. That's got to be what the full Project Legendary is; that's what they didn't tell you."

"Why the faked deaths?" Brandon asked, now with undercurrents of anger lining his voice, which was completely justifiable. It was no small thing to tell a father that his youngest son was dead, then to reveal it was all a lie.

"Mewtwo, the clone, had somehow been communicating with Ash. He came under the impression that the leader of Team Rocket, Giovanni, would continue to come after them if they weren't out of the way," Brock explained. "The reasons why Giovanni was after them still aren't clear, but with this... I can make some sense of this."

"Solidad said she thinks Drew's father funded the project," Reggie spoke up again, though his voice was weak.

"We have to call Solidad, then," Maylene insisted, "and we need to go to Lance. This is important information. It could help them find Giovanni."

"Yeah," Reggie agreed, nodding quickly before looking to his father again. For the first time in years, he was able to look him in the eyes. "Well, would you be willing to talk to Lance now?"

_**January 12th, 2002. Afternoon. Blackthorn City.**_

"A beautiful display of power and precision! I suppose nothing less is to be expected from a Top Coordinator!" Adrian, the Johto contests and Grand Festival MC, cooed as Solidad's Butterfree spun through a spiral of its own Silver Wind. Solidad let on a smile; it was the signature move for May and her Beautifly. She had planned this performance as a sort of tribute to the young coordinator, and much of the audience and the judges noticed. May Maple and Drew Hayden were on the minds of many this day, and it certainly was no secret that Solidad was close with both. In fact, several of her fellow competitors had walked up to her that morning and commended her for being so brave, to which Solidad could only muster up a half-smile and a nod.

That morning, before the preliminary appeal round officially began, Adrian had led the stadium in a moment of silence for the absent coordinators, drawing attention to the fact that both would have been here had tragedy not befallen them. The TV cameras had focused on herself (and Harley) at that time, and she frowned and cast him a furtive glance. He looked back at her, and though no words were exchanged, they perfectly understood what the other was thinking.

As much as it troubled her to admit it, Harley was right. They were now knee-deep in a lie that seemed to be spiraling out of control. She wanted to trust Lance's judgement, but this was overwhelming. What would happen in three or four or five months, when it was revealed that it was all a hoax? What would be made of her? More importantly, what would be made of May and Drew?

Her appeal finished, Solidad exited the arena and headed backstage. In the coordinator's lounge, dozens of sympathetic eyes fell upon her, and Solidad's frown deepened. She didn't like this brand of attention.

"Hey," Harley quickly approached, speaking in a hushed tone. "Took you long enough."

"I was doing my appeal?" Solidad quirked an eyebrow.

"Reggie finally called back. I answered your cell phone."

"Oh!" Solidad livened up. "What did he say?"

"I didn't ask. I told him you'd get back to him."

Solidad nodded, feeling her stomach twist in knots. She didn't realize she had felt so nervous about this. She reclaimed her cell phone and quickly redialed Reggie's number as she started to head out of the lounge.

"Hey, where are you going?" Harley followed her briefly.

"My appeal's finished. I don't have to stick around."

"Don't you need to know your score and whether you made it into the next round?"

"That's what I have you for. Good luck on your appeal." Solidad pressed the phone to her ear. "It's ringing. I'll catch up with you later."

_**January 12th, 2002. Afternoon. Somewhere in Johto.**_

"Arceus, it's cold," Butch complained, pulling his scarf up higher to cover his red-tipped nose. His voice was muffled by the fabric, and his words had to compete with the bumps and grumbles of jeep as it traveled along the rocky path. "This is stupid. Why is the Boss calling in all his agents?"

"Oh hush up," Cassidy rolled her eyes before flicking the car's heater on. Even she had to admit it was cold; it came as a surprise that morning when she woke up to frost on the windshield and had to make Butch clear it off. The weather was definitely worsening. "Team Rocket just publicly captured a Legendary Pokémon, Butch. Plus, the G-Men mentioned Team Rocket in the same breath as those fourteen dead kids. The whole world's against us right now. I mean, it's already always been against us, but now it's gotten to the point where if your Joe Schmoe saw the TR logo on our clothes, he'd be spurred on to beat us. I think Boss realizes that, and that's why he wants all his agents back at the bases. Can't have anyone torturing agents for information, can he?"

"Yeah, yeah," Butch mumbled. "That's all good and fine, but do you think ya could stop at the next Pokémon Center? I gotta take a piss."

Cassidy made a face.

"What did I just tell you? About others seeing us?" she hissed at him.

"I know, but I really gotta go!"

A short, disgusted growl emerged from the back of her throat, and she pulled off at the edge of the road.

"Here," she said, turning off the engine. "Go now."

"_What_? No, are you kidding me, it'll freeze before it even reaches the ground!"

"Well, your options are that you either go now, or you wait until we reach the next bureau."

Butch glowered at her, but nevertheless exited the jeep, mumbling as he went to the nearest bush.

* * *

The edge of Silver's lip twitched, and he looked up from his lunch (which was admittedly the best thing he'd had since leaving his father. He had to hand it to the connoisseur: He knew how to cook).

"Did you hear that?" he asked. The brunette girl beside him—he was pretty sure her name was May—glanced at him.

"Hear what?" she asked innocently.

"It sounded like there was a car."

"Um..." She paused, furrowing her eyebrows with thought. "I think we might be close to a commercial road. Don't worry too much about it. We generally try to avoid trainer's paths and roads, but if we ever get close to one, we never stay near it for too long."

This answer, though perfectly justified and reasonable, was not satisfactory for Silver. He waited until she got caught up in conversation with her blue-haired friend and, taking advantage of her distraction, slipped away.

_**January 12th, 2002. Afternoon. Blackthorn City.**_

"Ms. Clair?" Cody poked his head into the Dragon Master's study. "There's a coordinator here at the gym."

Clair reacted to this morsel of information with confusion. She glanced back at her television, noting that the festival was still running. A man named Harley Rannells was about to appeal.

"The... festival is still going," Clair stated, unsure of what else to say. "It has barely just begun, in fact. Why would a coordinator be here?"

Cody shrugged.

"She said she wanted to speak with you," he said.

"Bring her in, I suppose," Clair sighed. Cody promptly disappeared and, several minutes later, a pink-haired woman took his place in the doorway.

"Solidad Natochenny?" Clair slowly rose to her feet, surprised.

"How do you know my name?" Solidad asked kindly, though she seemed surprised herself.

"I just watched your appeal a couple of minutes ago," Clair explained. "What are you doing-"

The Dragon-type trainer stopped short, her breath catching slightly as she realized the answer to her own question. It had been discussed that morning, in pre-Grand Festival coverage. Solidad Natochenny, the former Top Coordinator of Kanto, had a well-known mentoring relationship and rivalry with the two late Hoenn coordinators, May Maple and Drew Hayden. Clair had watched the report with mild interest.

"Never mind," Clair continued. "I believe I know why you're here. You've been with Lance recently, haven't you?"

Solidad knew Clair was testing her, making sure she really _did_ know the full truth before openly discussing it. Lance was the middle man between them. He had told Clair to watch over the fourteen trainers when they arrived, and he had pulled for Solidad's services when Brock needed a companion.

"Yes," Solidad confirmed. She glanced behind her, making sure Cody had left, before adding in a low voice, "I know where the kids are."

Clair turned off her television set before brushing past the coordinator and shutting the door. Now they were closed off from the outside world.

"You _think_ you know," Clair mumbled into the silence.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I can't let you see May or Drew, if that's what you want," Clair said. "I... I understand if this seems unfair, but it is for their own protection, you see. I'm sure you miss them. But, should I let you into Dragon's Den, then others will want into Dragon's Den. I don't mean just tourists and other trainers. Parents, siblings, other friends. It would attract attention and suspicion."

"I can see why you would adhere to that logic," Solidad nodded. "However, I'm not here for pleasantries. I want to talk to Drew, specifically, about something important."

"It'll have to wait until Team Rocket falls and they can return home," Clair said.

"It can't wait until then. This isn't in any way personal," Solidad persisted. "Not anymore. Drew may know something that could help the G-Men find Team Rocket."

Clair flinched. She was trapped; she didn't have a way to refute that. Unless...

"You'll have to talk to Lance," she breathed. "It's out of my power."

Clair felt guilty about pushing this onto her cousin, but her options had been exhausted, unless she revealed the truth that the children were not with her. Lance would have to deal with this. This was not her responsibility; she was not officially affiliated with the G-Men.

"What's the best way to talk to him?" Solidad asked, undaunted.

"In person," Clair lied, attempting to deter her. "He never answers his phone."

In reality, it was actually the other way around. The location of the G-Men's headquarters at the Indigo Plateau was not a secret; everyone and their mother could go there and demand a meeting with the Champion. Of course, they were almost always turned down. Lance's phone number, however, was private. Access to it meant you were an important person with whom Lance would actually be willing speak. Clair was one of the few granted that privilege.

"Fine," Solidad stepped away. "Thank you for your time."

Solidad quickly left, and Clair let out a shaky breath, knowing she had not changed a thing.

_**January 12th, 2002. Afternoon. Somewhere in Johto.**_

Leaf's head jerked toward the direction of the ear-splitting crack of thunder and saw a streak of lightning cutting into the sky. She cursed under her breath. That was a Pokemon's doing. There was no telling whether it was wild or belonged to a trainer, but she was not taking her chances.

"Leaf, we should bail," Gary told her and, for once, she agreed.

"Yeah," she nodded, jumping to her feet. "We need to go. _Now_."

Everyone was quick to follow her lead, and they quickly began to pack up to leave. Leaf did a cursory headcount of the trainers, and her eyes widened when she realized they were short one. She counted again.

"Where's Silver?" she finally asked.

May's head perked up, and she looked all around her.

"He was just here, I swear!" she said.

There was a crash, the sound of something being thrown against a tree, not too far away from where they were now. A battle was ensuing nearby, and Leaf could only guess who was involved.

"Gary, take the others away from here," she instructed him, pulling out one of her Pokéballs and enlarging it. "I'll catch up with you guys later. I need to find our lost black Mareep."

"Yes ma'am," Gary casually saluted her, and Leaf took off toward the cacophony. She whipped through frost-bitten bushes and trees, their branches occasionally snapping and leaving a thin, red welt on her skin.

She came upon a tension-ridden scene. Silver stood in the middle of the road with a Magneton at his command, and he was pitted against four different Pokémon: a Hitmontop, a Stoutland, a Houndour, and an Ariados, all under the ownership of two Rocket grunts. Leaf slid down the steep incline of the slope and met Silver at his side.

"Looks like you're outnumbered," she commented before releasing her Pokémon: an Ivysaur. The Grass-type emitted a low growl once he saw his opponents, and he readied his stance for battle.

"What are you doing here?" Silver hissed.

"I could ask you the same thing!"

"I can handle this myself, thanks," Silver dismissed.

"Enough of this!" the blonde Rocket cried, exasperated. "Butch, this is exactly what I was telling you about! As soon as someone saw our TR logos, they'd be all over us."

"Yeah, I get it," Butch grumbled. "Can't help it, though, when you gotta go, you gotta go!"

"Ugh, whatever. Houndour, use Flamethrower!"

"Magneton, dodge it."

"You too, Ivysaur!"

Both Leaf and Silver split away from each other with their respective Pokémon and managed to avoid the onslaught of flames. Leaf and her Ivysaur took refuge behind what was presumably the Rockets' jeep; Silver and his Magneton had nowhere to hide and barely missed the fire. Silver winced from the straying embers.

Leaf felt a pit grow at the bottom of her abdomen. These Rockets were serious. She had met several grunts in her time as one of the G-Men, but they were mostly interested in stealing her or other trainers' Pokémon. These two didn't seem to care about that at all. They just wanted herself and Silver out of the way.

"Stoutland, use Take Down!" Butch ordered. The Normal-type let out a gruff bark before charging toward the vehicle behind which Leaf and Ivysaur were hidden. She barely had time to react; the Stoutland made impact with the jeep, shattering the windows on the driver's side and flipping the vehicle over. Leaf fell back, trying to scramble away.

"Blastoise, go!" Before the jeep could crush Leaf and her Ivysaur, the massive Shellfish Pokémon swept in and caught it. Leaf lowered her head, trying to shield her eyes from the sharp pieces of broken glass that rained upon her. Blastoise put the jeep back on its four wheels.

"Butch, you idiot!" Cassidy screeched, smacking him on the back of the head. "That's our ride!"

"Gary," Leaf breathed in surprise as the Pallet trainer appeared beside her. He tried to help her up, but she rejected him in her daze and tried to stand herself, though she failed do so. Gary didn't give up, however; he hooked his arm with hers and pulled her up. Leaf then finally managed to piece two and two together: The Blastoise was the little Squirtle that Gary had received from his grandfather, the same day she received her Bulbasaur-turned-Ivysaur.

"Leaf, you're bleeding," Gary told her, his hands firmly grasping her shoulders. She blinked and looked down at her hands, which were indeed a bloody mess. She must have sliced them against the glass on the ground when she first refused Gary's assistance and tried to get up herself. She hadn't noticed the pain because of the adrenaline pumping in her veins.

Reality crashed down, and Leaf snapped her head up, glaring at Gary.

"Why are you doing here?" she demanded. "I thought I told you to take the others away!"

"You did, but Ash heard the trouble, so I came here," he said. "Good thing, too, you could have been killed!"

"Well, you should go back to the others," she yanked away from him. "Silver and I have this under control."

"Obviously." Gary's eyes flicked to her hands.

"Leaf!" The agent looked in direction of the concerned call and found it came from Ash. He was coming down the slope to meet them.

"Oh Arceus, you brought them _with_ you?" Now Leaf sounded downright angry.

"What would you have had me do?" Gary asked, frustrated.

"After you, leadership defers to Cilan!"

"Well, thanks for telling me now!"

Meanwhile, the other trainers came to the head of slope to observe the scene; Gary and Ash had run ahead, and only now had they caught up.

"Hey, that's Cassidy!" Misty realized aloud.

"And _Biff_!" Ritchie added.

Butch turned red with anger at the all-too-common naming mistake.

"It's Butch! Get it right!" he corrected, stamping his foot. "Hitmontop, use Hidden Power!"

"Gastrodon, standby for battle!" Paul called out his own Pokémon. "Use Muddy Water to counteract that Hidden Power."

Gastrodon made a gurgling noise as water bubbled under his slimy underside before spiraling out. The wave of brownish water swallowed the Hidden Power, protecting the group, as well as hitting their opponents directly, drenching them.

Ash hurried to where Leaf and Gary were standing, and Silver also went to check out whether she was OK or not. The raven-haired boy's eyes widened when he saw the tears in her jacket and the red liquid dripping down her wrists. There was a brief break in Silver's poker face, but he quickly recovered.

"Ash," Leaf growled. "You shouldn't have come here."

"Well, it's too late now," Silver grumbled. "We've all been seen."

"Oh, like you can speak!" Leaf exclaimed furiously. "This is your fault! If you hadn't run off-"

"-I had to protect myself," Silver cut her off. "Rockets have been after me forever. I knew something was up."

"Were they actually looking for you, or were you just looking for trouble?" Gary sounded upset now, too.

"They could've been looking for you, too!" Silver defended.

"No, they couldn't have," Leaf refuted. "Because they think we're dead. But, thanks to you, now we've got two Rockets who know our secret!"

Silver fell silent; Ash cast his brother an uneasy glance before speaking up.

"Well, don't worry," he said confidently, addressing Leaf. "We won't let them get away."

Several yards away from the four trainers' mini conference, Butch and Cassidy had the unpleasant experience of feeling water—muddy water, no less—freeze in their clothes and hair. Their hands began to swell red from the iciness.

"F-F-_Freezing_," Butch said, wrapping his arms around himself and shivering.

"Oh _Mew_!" Cassidy cursed. "Do you realize how cold this is? You'll pay for that! Ariados, use Poison Sting!"

Ariados shook off the frost on its exoskeleton and leapt up with its four legs before launching a storm of purplish stingers at the group. The stingers seemed to be headed in Zoey and Dawn's direction in particular, until Paul stepped up to the plate.

"Gastrodon, use Protect," he ordered. He then turned to Dawn and Zoey behind him and growled, "Get back, both of you."

The two coordinators gladly listened, and Gastrodon quickly created a protective barrier for himself and his trainer. It held strong for a while, but just as Ariados's attack was weakening, the shield failed. Gastrodon, as a Ground-type, was relatively unaffected by the Poison-type move. Paul tried to back off to avoid the final batch of stingers, but he ended up having to throw up his arm to protect his face. He hissed with pain when he felt several tear through the fabric of jacket and stick in his skin.

"Pikachu, give 'em a Thunder!" Ash jerked his head to his partner.

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded confidently at his trainer, red cheeks sparking. He jumped off Ash's shoulder and, having enough power built up, unleashed a powerful electric attack against his opponents.

"Axew, follow up with Dragon Rage!" Iris also looked to her Pokémon.

"Yew Axew!"

"Roserade! Magical Leaf!" Drew told the Grass-type after calling her out.

"Come on, Empoleon, use Hydro Cannon!" came from Barry.

"Starmie! Hydro Pump!

"Pansage, use Bullet Seed!"

"Beautifly, Silver Wind!"

All this, among much else, provided a fantastic and terrifying display of utter power—more than enough to knock out Butch and Cassidy's four Pokémon. Before the smoke from the multi-elemental blast cleared, Ash reached for one of his Pokéballs on his belt.

"Bayleef! Use Vine Whip to hold Billy down when you can see him!" the trainer coughed into the smoke.

"It's Butch!"

Bayleef, even with limited sight, directed her vines toward the place where she'd heard the voice and successfully grabbed onto _something_.

"Servine, do the same with the Rocket girl," Trip told his starter.

As the gray fog began to fade, Leaf rushed forward to meet the Rockets and make sure they didn't get away, though she knew she was on the winning side. Their mode of transportation was practically destroyed, and they could only run as fast as she or her companions could. She was pleased to find that their Pokémon were now all unable to battle, and that Bayleef's and Servine's vines had successfully grabbed ahold of Butch and Cassidy. Bayleef, despite the lack of visibility, had managed to wrap her tendrils around Butch's ankles, bringing him to the ground. Servine had only managed to grasp Cassidy's arm with one of his vines, and she was attempting to pull away and escape. Servine quickly amended the situation by wrapping his other vine around Cassidy's thighs, bringing her down with a loud, painful-sounding 'thud.'

Leaf grabbed Butch's scarf and pulled him closer to her. He shuttered slightly at the sight of her blood permeating the cream-colored fabric.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"I-I-I swear! We had nothing to do with the deaths of those kids! That's all the G-Men's fault, anyway, Cass and I weren't involved!" Butch cried out. Leaf dropped his scarf, backing away slightly. The two Rockets had yet to realize who they were yet.

"Are you looking for Silver?" she asked, more calmly.

"What are you talking about?" Cassidy snarled at her. "We were just minding our own business-"

"-I was _literally_ attending to my own business," Butch piped in.

"-Shut up, Butch!" Cassidy glared at him before looking back at Leaf. "As I was saying, we had just stopped on the road when this red-haired kid came and attacked us without warning! I mean, I expected this sort of thing to happen if we went into town, but not in the middle of nowhere!"

"Leaf!" The agent turned her head slightly to see the rest of her fellow trainers recalling their Pokémon and gathering again to meet her. She was tempted to tell them to stay put—that the two Rockets did not know they were the fourteen trainers who had supposedly died in the bus accident, nor were they after Silver—but she remained silent. She realized it did not matter. One way or another, she couldn't let these two go. If they ever returned to a Rocket base and conveyed this incident to their leader, well, he surely would realize something was suspicious.

"Paul, are you all right?" Barry asked, concerned. He was about to head down the slope when he noticed his fellow Sinnoh trainer clutching his lower arm. His coloring had also turned chalky, though Barry assumed this was the cold. They all looked miserable in this weather.

Paul frowned.

"Yeah, I'm fine..." he assured the boy before heading down with the others.

"Leaf, your hands... !" Misty appeared horrified at the sight once she got close enough, and Leaf promptly stuffed her hands into her jacket and turned back toward Butch and Cassidy.

"You expected it?" she carried on, no longer bothered by the presence of the others.

"Well, yeah, the world pretty much hates us more than usual right now, you know, with Project Legendary and everything..."

"Project Legendary is still happening?" Silver suddenly cut in, his tone a hybrid of shock and anger.

"Butch, you moron!" Cassidy kicked Butch in the knee with her boot, and he yelped in pain. "You're not supposed to say anything about that!"

"Sorry!"

"What is Project Legendary now?" Leaf asked.

"Like we'll tell you!" Cassidy sassed.

"Look, you're not exactly in a position to protect that information," Leaf went on, her gaze narrowing at the blonde.

The others were closely watching this interview unfold with strange fascination. Gary, in particular, was interested. This was Leaf in top form; despite the fact she was bloodied and battered from the battle, she was pressing forward with resilience.

Not everyone was as interested, however. Paul had tried to stay upright and listen, but he felt himself literally losing his sense of balance. He stumbled slightly, but managed to recover. At this point, he realized he had been poisoned. He suddenly moved forward and grabbed onto the first stable thing available: May, in this case. The female coordinator squeaked and stumbled, too, as she now bore his heavy weight. She looked back at him wildly, confused as he gritted his teeth and leaned his head forward onto her shoulder, trying to balance himself. As his vision and thoughts became cloudy, however, he knew what was inevitable:

"I'm going to pass out," he told her sharply. His skin tone had paled dramatically and he was clutching her upper arm tightly, struggling to keep himself standing.

"W-What?" she stammered, both bewildered and panicked.

Before May had time to more fully process what he said, Paul's knees buckled, and he fell, bringing her down with him in the process. The rather noisy commotion garnered the full attention of the group, who all turned to see the two trainers collapsed in a heap on the ground. Confusion broke out as they were totally unaware of what happened, and whether it was May or Paul or both who were hurt.

"Arceus, May, are you OK?" Drew asked as he and the others rushed toward the fallen pair.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," May said quickly as he and Misty helped her up. "It's Paul, he fainted!" Their attention was thus appropriately turned to the out-cold trainer who was already being well attended to by other members of the large traveling pack. Paul's head was propped up gently on Dawn's lap while Zoey sat at his right-hand side, attempting to check for a heartbeat. Gary was situated opposite to Zoey and was rolling up the sleeve of Paul's jacket.

Leaf glanced at Butch and Cassidy, making sure they were still both secured by Bayleef and Servine, before joining the others.

"I can still feel his pulse; he's still breathing," Zoey declared finally.

"Well, don't get comfy," Gary added, turning Paul's wrist over, showing off the dozens of large poisonous barbs that were deeply embedded in his skin. "Look, that Ariados must've got him with Poison Sting. Ariados's poison is neurotoxic and, if untreated, can shut down the respiratory system. This is no small dosage, either. That's probably why he passed out so quickly." A short of beat of silence followed, as the severity of the situation sunk in.

"What do we do?" May panicked as Drew helped her over to the scene.

"We'll need to neutralize the poison with an antidote," Gary replied.

"Obviously," Leaf said, shooting him an irritated look. "What kind of antidote?"

"One that we probably don't have," Trip muttered under his breath.

"We'll just have to make due then. Neurotoxic, you say?" Cilan said, addressing Gary. The Pallet trainer nodded. "Well, I'm pretty sure there has to be something in this forest that will work just as well as a commercial antidote. Iris, you know a lot about homemade medications from being brought up in the Village of Dragons, don't you?"

"That's right," Dawn looked up at the Dragon-type trainer quickly. Panic had also seeped into her voice. Her hand was laid across Paul's forehead, and it unsettled her how clammy he felt. "The medicine you made to help heal my ankle was amazing. You've got to know something about anti-toxin medications, don't you?"

Iris was slightly taken aback by all the attention. The pressure was on.

"Um..." she hesitated, nervous. "Yes, I do. Pecha berries are excellent for curing poison. The problem is _getting_ some. It's so cold, and Pecha berries thrive in temperate whether. If there are any around here, they've probably shriveled up. I mean, if we found any, I could probably extract _something_ out of them to help, but..." She cast her gaze down to the barbs in his skin. "... not enough for this."

"There must be other options," Leaf persisted. This couldn't be it. This couldn't be her failure. If they were forced to go to a hospital, to get commercial help... that would be the end of it. Their secret would be exposed. Giovanni would know, Lance would find them, Silver would leave, and she'd be dead. She could handle two Rocket grunts, but this was beyond her.

"Maybe..." Ritchie began ponderously, pressing the knuckle of a finger to his upper chin. "Paul had a Gastrodon, didn't he? Maybe, if we manage to pluck out the stingers, it would be willing to suck out most of the poison. Iris's medicine could help cover the rest."

"That could work," Gary nodded. "We'd have to monitor, though."

"Great," Leaf sighed, relieved that they had come up with a solution. "So, game plan?"

"I have tweezers," Cilan informed her. "I could try to take out the barbs."

"The rest of us can _all_ help look for Pecha berries," Zoey added. "Gary, you should stay behind to help Cilan with Paul and Gastrodon, and Dawn, maybe you should stick around to help bandage Leaf's hands while she keeps watch over Cassidy and Butch."

"Sounds good to me," Misty agreed. "Let's go."

As the pack dispersed to attend to their assigned duties, Gary glanced up at Dawn, who still had Paul's head propped up on her lap.

"Trade?" he asked.

"Fine," she agreed.

_**January 12th, 2002. Late Afternoon. Blackthorn City.**_

"_Hey_," Harley dragged out the word with a lopsided, drunken-looking grin when Solidad entered their shared bedroom, her cell phone in hand. The heater Harley had somehow obtained several days earlier was still sputtering on the floor. "Wanna know who got the No. 1 score today?"

"I'm guessing either myself or you," Solidad answered. She went to her bag and pulled out her laptop, sitting down on the bed and opening it up.

"Actually, it was Robert," Harley replied. "But you were a very close second. And I was right up there with you guys at No. 12."

"That's quite the accomplishment." If someone didn't know Solidad, it was difficult for them to tell whether she was speaking sarcastically or not. Her tone rarely ever fluctuated, and it was hard to discern whether she had a constant dry wit embedded in her words, or if she was just always genuine. More than a decade after first meeting her, Harley still had trouble telling the difference, but he preferred to think it was the latter.

"Thanks," he said. "You know, I'm surprised. I was thinking this festival was going to be easy peasy lemon squeezy with all those coordinators that dropped out, and while it certainly is _easier_, there still is some pretty tough competition. You and Robert included."

"Just Robert."

Harley's face twisted with confusion.

"_What_?" he asked, surprised.

"Just Robert," Solidad repeated, shutting her laptop. "I'm dropping out of the festival, too."

"Why? Solidad, you could become a two-time Top Coordinator!" Harley reminded her as she stood up and, grabbing her bag, began to repack her clothes and other belongings. "What about the appeal you had planned for tomorrow, where you were going to try to honor Drew's style?"

Solidad paused, hanging her face in the palm of her hand.

"That's all just..." she began before letting out a laugh, "stupid!"

"What do you mean?"

She stopped long enough to face Harley again.

"Brandon was involved in something called Project Legendary," she informed him. "All signs point to it being the project in which Team Rocket created Mewtwo. With Team Rocket going after those kids with Mewtwo... there's got to be a connection somewhere. I thought Drew might know more, so I went to see Clair to see if I could talk to him. But... she seemed very nervous. She directed me to Lance. Something weird's happening, and I'm going to find out what it is. I just bought a plane ticket to Kanto. I called Reggie again and told them to wait for me."

"You're crazy."

Solidad's lips tightened.

"This has made it so."

_**January 12th, 2002. Late afternoon. Somewhere in Johto.**_

"Hey, Cass?"

"Mmm?" Cassidy was too tired, too cold, to tell him to shut up. Although their captors had been kind—food, fire, and a blanket had been willingly provided to them—their situation was not the least bit comfortable. Instead of vines, they had now been tied up with rope, and the pressure of the binding cut into their clothes and made them sore.

Worse, they still were foggy on the exact reasons why they were being kept prisoner.

"This is gonna sound crazy," Butch began quietly, not wanting any of the trainers to overhear, "but these kids... I think they're the ones that died in that bus accident."

Cassidy stared.

"That's stupid," she finally declared.

"No, seriously!" Butch pressed. "Think about it, what if the G-Men-"

"-Fourteen kids died, Butch. There's sixteen here," Cassidy said dryly. "And what about the G-Men? You think they'd set something like that up and then take the blame for it! Ha! You're an idiot."

Butch frowned.

"OK, geez," he conceded. "Just a theory."

* * *

"Is it ready?" Dawn asked as Iris approached, a wooden mixing bowl in hand. The coordinator, along with Cilan and Ash, who had returned with the search party with several dried Pecha berries, had set up more comfortable accommodations for Paul. They had retrieved his sleeping bag and, after laying him across it, used an extra blanket to keep him warm in the freezing weather. They were stuck between a rock and a hard place with that; the Sinnoh trainer had not stirred much, but he had managed to work up a fever, which drudged up a little bit of disagreement on how they should handle it.

"Why would we wanna keep him covered?" Ash had argued with Cilan. "Feel him. He's hot!"

"Better hot than cold," Cilan retaliated. "Fevers, while unpleasant and certainly dangerous if the temperature rises too high, are a body's mechanism of fighting off sickness. The cold could make it worse."

"I agree with Cilan on this one, Ash," Dawn chipped in. "If he gets past 103 degrees, then we can start to worry more."

So, they kept him well-covered, with the exception of his injured arm. Cilan had tied a cloth tightly around his upper arm to prevent the poison from spreading any further and then proceeded to pick out the stingers one-by-one. Paul's Gastrodon, who was more than willing to help his ailing trainer, was then placed on the affected area to, as they had planned, absorb the poison. Every few minutes, they would have to remove the Sea Slug Pokémon for a while, as Paul would start to pale. Nevertheless, the method _seemed_ effective.

"Yeah," Iris nodded, falling to her knees beside the others. She tipped the bowl slightly to show its contents, which appeared to be little more than a handful of crushed dead Pecha berries and some water. "This should help some."

"What are you going to do with it?" Ash asked.

"This right here is another _inedible_ treatment," she emphasized. "We'll massage it into the place where he was hit, and that should help neutralize the poison." Iris then reached into her back pocket and revealed an extraordinarily ripe-looking Pecha berry. "I don't know why, but this one somehow managed to survive the cold. When he wakes up, we'll want him to eat this one. That should cover all our bases."

"I suppose Lady Luck is on our side today," Cilan smiled congenially, accepting the berry from Iris. The four then busied themselves with cleaning the dozens of puncture wounds in Paul's skin, now red and slightly wrinkled from the force of his Pokémon's suction. Paul's eyebrow twitched. This was not unusual. Although he had yet to awaken, he had shown many signs of life in his unconscious state.

Iris then took a clean cloth and, after dipping in her mixture, pressed it to Paul's skin. It was then that the Sinnoh trainer stirred, his head lolling slightly. He groaned as his eyes cracked open.

"I was wondering if that would wake you up," Iris humored, smiling at him. "It's supposed to sting." The other three trainers seemed extraordinarily happy to see the trainer finally come around.

"Hey, guys!" Ash craned his head and called out to the rest of the group members. "Paul's waking up!"

The others also seemed pleased by this information, and many dropped what they were doing to greet their recovering comrade. Gary was about to leave, too, but he paused long enough to offer Leaf a sort of smile, a rare sight from the researcher. Her hands had finally been washed and wrapped, and Misty had sat with her for a while, combing through her hair to remove the tiny pieces of glass trapped in her brown tresses.

"So Gary must care about you a lot, huh?" the redhead had asked earlier after picking a particularly jagged piece from the brunette's scalp. Leaf furrowed her eyebrows, though Misty didn't see, because she was facing away from the gym leader.

"I guess," Leaf replied, shrugging. "I'm not sure what would make you think that. If you're referring to his Blastoise saving me today, well... I think any decent human being would want to prevent another human being from being crushed by a jeep."

"There's that," Misty laughed. "But, well, I met Gary several times while I traveled with Ash, and we've run into each other a couple of times since I've been back at the gym, when he comes to visit his grandpa. You know, since Cerulean and Pallet are so close. And he's always kind of been a flirt. Do you know he had that harem of girls following him around in Kanto and Johto?"

"I'm well aware." Leaf rolled her eyes.

"Yeah..." Misty lowered her eyelids slightly. "Anyway, my point is, throughout all of that, I've never seen him show as much concern for a girl as he did today. You were probably too out of it to notice it, but the way he was looking at you after you were hurt... Geez, he looked like a completely different Gary!"

Leaf blinked and breathed out as she looked down at her hands. Gary had been the one to tend to them. She hadn't thought about it much at the moment, but looking back, he had been very gentle while cleaning the wound, making sure there were no shards of glass in her skin, and wrapping her up. She cast a furtive glance in his direction. He was guarding Cassidy and Butch with Ritchie and Silver.

"Gary and I have been friends since we were toddlers," Leaf said finally. "Don't make anything of it."

"You still consider him a friend?" Misty asked. Leaf let out an empty chuckle.

"He and Ash might be the closest things I've got."

Back in the present, Leaf returned the smile and nodded for him to go on. She would stay with Butch and Cassidy.

"Hey man, how do you feel?" Kenny asked Paul once he got close enough. It took Paul a moment to process the question, but after a short delay, it finally clicked.

"Like I've been hit by a bus," he said frankly. "What... what happened?"

"You passed out," May answered, deciding to leave out the detail that he'd taken her down with him. "That Ariados poisoned you. You kind of scared us—a lot."

"But you'll be fine now," Drew began with a smirk and a flick of his hair. "After all, it's a well-known fact that Pokémon Trainers have more survival skills and first aid knowledge than Boy Scouts." This elicited a few laughs from the group. Paul's lower lip even twitched—the closest thing to a smile they would ever get out of him.

"Your dry wit is always appreciated, Drew," Cilan added after the laughter died down. "It always adds a bit of sugar to a sour situation."

"That's a weird way to word a compliment, but I'll take what I can get, so thank you."

"Where are the two Rockets?" Paul asked.

"Leaf and Silver are watching over them right now," Gary replied. "They're gonna figure out what we're going to do with 'em. Everything's OK now."

"Yeah, maybe for you," Paul grumbled. "You weren't poisoned. Comparatively, today is just dandy for you."

"Paul, go back to sleep," Zoey, surprisingly, let out a small chuckle as she shook her head. "You need your rest. You'll probably feel better in the morning."

Paul was more than willing to follow that advice. Cilan gave him the ripe Pecha berry to eat, which he did, and Iris quickly finished her work with her homemade antidote. Dawn found herself smiling when he finally drifted off. She then glanced up at Zoey, who had appeared to be closely watching her. Her redheaded friend then quickly looked away.

"We should probably trade off watching over him tonight," Misty suggested. "Just to make sure he doesn't go downhill again."

"I think that's a good idea," Ash agreed. A quick time schedule was drawn up, and after everyone understood their own roles in the process, they dispersed to attend to their other duties of the evening.

_**March 8th, 1994. Evening. Pewter City.**_

Paul and Reggie were never close. The older brother had turned 10 when the younger was 3; Reggie obtaining his first Pokémon, a Squirtle, and leaving on his journey was one of Paul's earliest memories, and it was his only memory of his elder sibling for a long time. A seven-year age difference was difficult to work with in a culture where Pokémon training and going on a journey were considered a rite of passage.

Of course, Reggie was never mean to Paul. He was good-natured, and Paul liked him well enough when he came home for the holidays. Reggie always told him about his adventures and let him pet his Pokémon. He had already challenged several leagues, but he recently had overheard him talking to their mother about how he wasn't sure if the Pokémon League Challenge was for him. He said he'd met a Pokémon Breeder and had a growing interest in the field. Paul didn't get that. What could be cooler than winning the league and becoming the Champion?

Yet, Reggie had stayed around for longer than usual this time around—more than a month, in fact. After Dad had said he was going away for a bit, Reggie had come home right away, which confused Paul. It wasn't Christmas. Christmas had passed months ago. One evening, Paul had asked his brother why he was back.

"Mom's sick right now," Reggie had told him. "I just want to make sure both of you are OK while Dad's gone."

He'd heard this before, from Dad especially. 'Mom is sick.' She didn't look sick to Paul, though. Sickness was a dripping nose and a bad cough. Mom looked like she always did: messy violet hair pulled back into a ponytail, dull gray irises, bags of sadness under her eyes. This was normal. She had looked this way for as long as Paul could remember. Anyway, she just stayed in bed most of the time.

There were instances, though, when he saw her come to life in a fit of passion. Her eyes lit up with fire and her normally gentle voice became fast and jagged. Her hands would start shaking, then her whole body would follow. Dad or Reggie (when he was around) would have to try to hold her down during these spells, but she would mostly just kick and scream, waking up all the neighbors.

These moments were the reason Dad had built the Battle Pyramid so close outside of Pewter City. He told Paul to call him immediately if her hands started to shake. Paul had only had to do it two or three times, because she usually slept during the day, and Dad was always back home at night.

At 8, Paul was still ignorant of the depth of their family's problems, because he never knew anything else. This was his reality. But his reality turned itself upside down one stormy evening, more than a month after Dad had been gone.

"Is Mom on the phone right now?" Reggie, now 15, asked. "Or is she just talking to herself again?"

Paul shrugged and took another sip of his orange juice.

"I dunno," he replied, turning the page in his book.

Reggie frowned. Mom was not supposed to talk on the phone, but Paul never saw what the big deal was. His older brother left to check the situation, and Paul remained comfortably situated in the silence that ensued. Then, he heard a crash.

"They're coming!" he heard Mom scream from the other room. "They're going to get me!"

"Who's coming?" Reggie asked her as calmly as possible. "Who were you talking to?"

"_They_ are!" She appeared in the living room where Paul was located. Reggie was grasping her shoulders, trying to ease her.

"Mom, have you taken your medication today?" he asked. "I thought I had made sure you hadn't spit it out this time..."

"Oh, what a time to talk about your mother's crazy pills!" She shook her head. "I don't like them. They make me feel foggy. If I had taken them today, then I wouldn't even do anything, I wouldn't even understand they were coming after me!"

"Who's coming?" Reggie repeated, more urgently.

She screamed and struggled against him, trying to escape, but he had a firm grasp on her. In a final act of desperation, she bit his wrist and, taking advantage of the brief moment in which he let go, ran out the front door and into the heavy rain.

They spent what felt like forever looking for her. Reggie had all his Pokémon out for the search. Eventually, Officer Jenny and the other members of the police force had to get involved. Hours passed, and the search sunk deeper and deeper into the night, until it was night no more and the rain had stopped. Exhausted, the sun having barely risen, Paul headed down to the creek; his house was far away, and he wanted to wash up.

He couldn't get close; the storm water had flooded the creek, and his mother's pallid face had washed up on the shore.

_**January 13th, 2002. Middle of the night. Unmarked territory.**_

"_Hey... hey!_"

Paul gasped in a breath of air when he woke up, his head spinning. It took him a moment to focus his vision, to get a grip on reality, and it felt terrible. He became acutely aware of the pain in his arm and also of the fact that Dawn was holding his face in her hands. His first instinct was to push her away; he didn't like being babied. It was hard enough accepting that his companions had to save his life earlier that day. Not that he wasn't grateful, he just felt stupid about it.

"You OK?" Dawn asked worriedly when came to. Still cupping his face, she used her thumb to brush a loose strand of his mauve hair out of his eye. "You were thrashing in your sleep." She moved her hand to his forehead. "And it feels like you have a fever again."

"Yeah, I'm fine," Paul said gruffly, backing away from her, so she couldn't touch him anymore. "Just a bad dream."

"Do you want to talk about it?" she offered.

"Not really."

"All right."

She didn't seem bothered by his refusal to open up. Paul leaned his head against the trunk of the tree under which his sleeping bag was situated. He closed his eyes, trying to block out the final mental images of his nightmare. He pressed his hand up against his face and bit his tongue, trying to force his world to stand still as it continued to spin in a whir of gross colors in his mind.

He pushed his sickness back down his throat and lolled his head back to his companion, who had been watching carefully. She hadn't said anything, but her concerned expression dissolved his already weakened defenses.

"... It was my mother," Paul said after a long moment of silence, catching Dawn off-guard. She hadn't expected him to speak up.

"What?" she inquired.

"Arceus, I don't even know why I'm telling you this," Paul groused, turning away, feebly attempting to raise another shield.

"You don't have to say anything," she told him.

"It was the day she died," Paul went on, and Dawn decided if he wanted to ramble, then she'd let him. She wasn't going to try to understand everything about him; she was pretty sure that was impossible. "Well, night, maybe. It's all kind of blurry."

"I'm sorry," Dawn said, not knowing what else she _could_ say. How were you supposed to react to someone telling you their mother is dead? She hadn't even known. The only family she was aware of was Reggie. She supposed she could have guessed neither of their parents were around, though. She'd been to his house before. Not a mother or father were in sight.

Paul looked at her more directly.

"What time is it?"

"About 2 a.m.," Dawn replied. "You've been sleeping for a long time. We've been trading off watching over you. How do you feel, by the way?"

"Not much better than I did the first time I woke up," he told her bluntly.

"But still a little better?"

"I guess."

"That's good, then."

She was trying to stay positive, trying to get his mind off his nightmare. Meanwhile, he slid down a couple inches against the tree trunk, now pressing both hands to his forehead. If his temperature was as high as how terribly ill and heated as he felt, then it was no wonder she was worried.

Was she worried?

"I'm sorry," he suddenly said. She looked at him strangely.

"Why are you apologizing?"

He shrugged. Dawn waited for him to come up with some sort of answer, however vague, but it never came. She again resigned herself to the fact that she'd never understand him. Silence fell again, and Dawn tilted her head slightly, becoming strangely intrigued.

"Can I ask you a question? You don't have to answer," she started.

"Whatever," he mumbled.

Dawn perceived that as the best permission she would ever get from him.

"Today..." she began slowly, "... you protected Zoey and I today. When that Ariados attacked, you were willing to throw yourself in front of us with Gastrodon to fight it off. That's how you got poisoned, isn't it? Really, you risked a lot for she and I."

"I didn't hear a question in that."

"I guess I just want to know why," Dawn admitted. Paul was quiet for a long moment.

"I don't know," he finally answered. "I wasn't even thinking about it at the time. I just did it."

Dawn couldn't resist a smile. Who would have guessed the normally cool, collected, and calculating Paul could act recklessly, too? That was Ash's signature move, and Ash and Paul were as different as night and day.

"Well, I'm grateful for what you did," she chuckled. "And I'm glad you're OK. Really!"

"I'm glad you're OK, too."

Dawn blinked, taken aback. That was the last thing she ever expected to hear him say; it was probably the last thing he, himself, expected to say, but he was too far gone to fully grasp the implications of his statement. This prompted her to wonder if she was actually speaking to a fever and not a person; still, her mind drifted back to what Ritchie had said, and she wondered if he was right about Paul.

She didn't have time to think about it for too long, as Paul pushed himself off the tree trunk using his good arm, his eyes now locked with hers. She had never held his gaze for this long (nor he hers), and only now did she notice the few thistle-colored fibers in his dark gray irises. She quickly realized he was drawing closer to her, but she didn't move.

She could feel the heat of his sickness when he kissed her, but in perhaps her own delusion, she kissed him back. She didn't know why; she just did. It wasn't at all romantic, either—it was something that just happened without much warning. The odd thing was, she didn't mind it. In fact, maybe she even liked it a little.

Besides, all things considered, kissing him was comparatively less crazy than half the things they had endured already.

Someone cleared their throat behind them, and Dawn and Paul immediately fell apart. Trip was standing behind them, and they weren't sure how much he had seen, but it had undoubtedly been enough. They'd been caught red-handed. She was blushing, hard, and he seemed a little pink, too, but that could have been passed off as sickness.

"I'm here to relieve you of your post, Dawn," Trip said after a moment. "Get some sleep."

"R-Right." She quickly stood up and quickly brushed the dirt off her jeans before hurrying off. Trip cast her a wary eye as she went, and then he sat down beside Paul.

"Just so we're clear," he began. "I'm not kissing you."

Paul emitted a low growl and sunk into his sleeping bag.

.

.

_A/N: Happy Ikarishipping Day?_

_Reviews are, as always, greatly appreciated._

_._

_._


	19. XVII: In Which Kenny Grows Wary

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Chapter XVII: In Which Kenny Grows Wary

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_**January 13th, 2002. Sunrise. Unmarked territory.**_

Leaf shook the pen several times, trying to get the ink to flow. The temperature was brutal. Anything liquid was at risk of being frozen or, at least, dramatically slowed down. She had spent several minutes attempting to write a short note, but all she had done was make barely legible indentations in a paper. The words were there; she had written them. They were just invisible without the black ink to mark their presence.

Finally, the writing utensil managed to produce a visible line, and she was free to write:

_Lance,_

_We are alive._

That was all she needed. More importantly, that was all _he_ needed. He knew her better than perhaps she knew herself. He would recognize her handwriting in a heartbeat. No need for a signature. No need for further elaboration.

She folded the scrap piece of paper up and slid it into her back pocket.

"What are you doing?"

Leaf exhaled quickly, feeling a momentary sting of panic as she spun around to face Silver. He was watching her with hard eyes, suspicious.

"Fixing your mistake," she recovered quickly, brushing past him. She sat on the cold ground across from their prisoners, Butch and Cassidy, who both shared the same blank expression. The rope that previously bound them had been loosened and tossed off to the side. Leaf's Hypno also stood in front of the two Rocket grunts, swinging its pendulum in perfect rhythm.

"This early?"

"I wanted to get it done quickly," Leaf hastily replied.

"Then why didn't you do it last night?"

"Why don't you quit talking, so I can do my job?"

Silver pressed his lips tightly together, annoyed. He then looked to the two Rocket grunts, examining them closely.

"What's the matter with them?" he asked.

"Well, they're hypnotized," Leaf said, pointing to her Hypno, as though it were obvious. "I don't want them to remember what they saw yesterday. Not sure if they ever figured out who we are, but I can't take that risk."

"Or who I am," Silver added.

"You know, the funny thing is, I particularly care about you right now," Leaf said, straightforward. "Actually, I'm just mad at you. If these Rockets have figured out that you're Giovanni's son, that's your own fault. None of this would have happened if it weren't for your paranoia."

"So I'm guessing you learned this cute trick from Lance?" Silver said casually, changing the subject.

Leaf shrugged, willing to play along. She would have preferred to have an all-out smackdown with Silver over his impulsive actions yesterday, but she was walking a delicate line. While she knew her obligations to protect Ash and company far outweighed her desire to facilitate the rescue of Mewtwo and downfall of Giovanni, she certainly wasn't looking to drive Silver away.

"Most everything I know is from Lance," she replied.

"That's actually very concerning."

"Oh, I don't think so." Leaf rolled her eyes. "Now, please be quiet."

Silver observed her plea and remained silent. The agent took in a deep breath, carefully sorting out her words in her mind.

"Butch, Cassidy," she began calmly, making it a point to address the two by their first names, "when I snap my fingers, I need you to listen to everything I say. Do you understand?"

Butch nodded immediately. Cassidy took a little longer, but she eventually did, too. Leaf then raised her hand, quickly sliding her middle finger across her thumb to make the familiar, crisp sound. Both of the Rockets straightened up.

"You will remember nothing that happened yesterday or this morning. You will not remember meeting any of us. You will not remember battling us. If anyone is to ask what happened to you, you will not mention your capture nor your imprisonment," Leaf continued, taking care to articulate her words. "When I release you, you will stand and walk straight to Birch Town without stopping, and you will turn yourselves in at the police station. Is this clear?"

The Rockets nodded again.

"When I snap my fingers again, you will obey everything I've just told you," Leaf finished, punctuating the end of her sentence with another crisp snap. The agent backed off and gestured for her Hypno to do the same. Silver stared wide-eyed as the two Rockets mechanically rose to their feet, as Leaf had told them to do. They then began to walk.

"Huh," Silver mused. "Impressive." He actually seemed more disturbed, and in the brief instant that he looked away, Leaf discreetly slipped her note into Butch's back pocket.

_**January 13th, 2002. Early Morning. Cerulean City.**_

Daisy had always been a light sleeper.

Some mild disturbance roused the eldest Waterflower sister from her rest, and she sat up. A chill rippled through the blonde's skin as her bare feet touched the tiled ground near her bed, and she wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. The cold was inescapable; it touched every surface, huddled in every crack, breathed ice into the sky.

Downstairs, Daisy found the source of her rousing: Tracey was up and about, apparently packing. She immediately frowned.

"Oh, you're not _leaving_, are you?" she asked. Tracey froze and glanced at her.

"Daisy!" He obviously had not expected to see her. "I'm sorry if I woke you. I was planning on leaving a note..."

"You are leaving!" Daisy whined, her shoulders sagging. "What did I do wrong? I know I've, like, been an awful Debbie Downer lately, but please don't leave!"

"I-I'm not leaving!" Tracey stammered, hurrying to grasp her shoulders and reassure her. "Not permanently, at least. I'll come back, if you want. It's just... I received a message from Brock this morning."

Daisy blinked.

"Who?" She seemed fine now that Tracey had told her they weren't breaking off... whatever they had.

"Brock," Tracey repeated. "You know, the tall, dark fellow that used to travel with Ash and Misty? Has squinty eyes? A bit of a flirt?"

"Oh... Oh yeah," Daisy mused. She suddenly recalled that photo Misty had framed in her room, the one of herself and two other men: one Ash, the other, presumably, Brock. A pang of sadness stung her heart when she realized that the photo probably didn't exist anymore. It had likely died along with everything else in that fire. "Well, what did he say?"

"It's complicated," Tracey admitted. "I don't fully understand it myself, but the gist is that some of the others have found something out about a project that may have been related to Mewtwo's creation, and therefore to the capture of Moltres. They're going to speak to Lance today. Brock invited me to join them, since he felt I might have my own concerns, especially since I was there when the weather patterns were thrown off their balance the first time the Legendaries at the Shamouti isles were disturbed."

"Can I come?"

Tracey's face twisted with confusion.

"What?"

"Can I come?" Daisy repeated. "This all has to do with Misty, too, right? I care, too, then."

Tracey was silent for a moment, hesitant.

"All right," he finally agreed. "We need to leave soon, though. Brock and Reggie and Maylene are picking Solidad up at the airport. We're supposed to meet them at the Indigo Plateau."

"OK," Daisy smiled brightly. "I'll be quick, I promise! I can be ready in 30 minutes."

Tracey stared, and her glowing demeanor faded.

"I'll just do my make-up in the car?" she suggested. Tracey smiled, too, and chuckled.

"That'll work."

_**January 13th, 2002. Morning. Viridian City.**_

The car was silent.

By then, they had circled the airport two or three times. Maylene had not been keeping count. They were in such a hurry that they had forgone parking. Instead, Brock and Reggie had simply hopped out in front of the terminal at which Solidad was supposed to arrive, leaving her and Brandon alone. She and the Frontier Brain would pick them up once they met up with the coordinator.

Maylene and Brandon didn't know what to say to each other. Father-in-laws and daughter-in-laws were supposed to meet long before the engagement, and when they did, it usually wasn't under such trying circumstances.

Maylene's cell phone rang, and she made a quick grab for it. She needed a distraction, something to fill the lull in conversation.

"Hello?" she asked. Brandon's eyes briefly flicked away from the road and to her.

"Maylene?" The gym leader felt a sense of relief wash over her at the familiar warmth of her fiancé's voice. "Could you check the flight information? I think Brock and I accidentally left it in the car, and we're trying to figure out where to go..."

"Sure, sure..." Maylene fumbled for a moment as she found the printed sheet of paper on the dash. "It's flight 180, from Blackthorn City."

"_Ah, that's what I thought_," she heard Brock say.

"Thank you, Maylene," Reggie continued. "We shouldn't be much longer. Love you."

"Love you, too." A half-smile formed on Maylene's lips as the call ended. She then dropped her phone into her lap and let out a short sigh. She leaned back into her seat and lolled her head to the side, looking out the window. She absentmindedly began to play with her ring again. She was still adjusting to having one; it might have seemed insignificant, but she had never worn any sort of jewelry her entire life, so it felt odd.

"When did you and Reggie meet?" Brandon asked, clearing his throat.

Maylene lifted her head slightly and stopped fussing; she seemed surprised that he had finally initiated a conversation with her, after so long.

"Just a few days after he and Paul came to Veilstone, I think," she answered. "It's funny, my mother made me take some cookies or something over there—a friendly neighbor gesture sort of thing. I was 13, and I didn't want to go, because I was training with my Riolu. Parents often have a funny way of knowing the right thing for their children. You know, little things we don't realize will have such a big impact on us..." She trailed off when she realized what she was saying, and she wondered if this would offend him.

He didn't seem troubled.

"Have you two set a date?" he asked.

"Not yet," Maylene shook her head. "Paul wanted to be there. So... sometime after all this is resolved."

She realized he was probably curious because he, too, wanted to be there. She was about to tell him that _of course_ he could come, but she held her tongue. Sure, she was fine with him coming. She held no personal grievances against him. In fact, growing up, she'd only heard about what a strong and wise trainer he was. It wasn't until she and Reggie started dating that she heard the other side. It had only been a day since Brandon revealed the reasons behind his alleged abandonment. Reggie was a reasonable person, but she wasn't sure how he felt about it—whether his opinion had turned or not.

Silence fell again, and they circled the airport one last time before being waved down by Brock. He and Reggie had finally collected Solidad. Brandon decelerated and pulled off in front of the terminal. Brock and Solidad slid into the backseat while Reggie quickly loaded her baggage into the trunk before joining them.

"You must be Solidad Natochenny," Brandon greeted, watching her from the rearview mirror as the car began moving once again.

"Yes," Solidad nodded. "It's a pleasure to more formally meet you, Brandon."

"Is Harley not coming?" Maylene asked curiously.

"No," Solidad replied. "He'll be competing in the Grand Festival. He doesn't have as much of a vested interest in May and Drew as I do."

"I see," Maylene mused. She supposed she should have known. Reggie had been, as far as she had known, only communicating with Solidad, and she was the one who had told them to wait for her. It was just that Solidad and Harley almost seemed like a pair; where one was, the other went. They had spent most of their time in Pallet with each other, and she had briefly seen them together again at the memorial.

"So this person you've been talking you... the father of the boy you know... you think he's involved in Project Legendary?" Brandon asked.

"I'm not going to assume anything," Solidad answered, "but the stories do match up. The unfortunate thing is that I have no way of contacting him, and even if I did, he wouldn't talk to me about this. I couldn't get him to talk to me about it a few days ago. That's why I wanted to see Drew, but Clair refused me. It's all very strange."

"Well, if Lance finds him, he'll certainly get him talking," Brandon replied. The car managed to escape airport traffic and turn onto the freeway.

They were on their way.

_**January 13th, 2002. Morning. Somewhere in Johto.**_

Ash flexed his purplish fingers; the muscles felt tense, and he needed to get the blood running. Pikachu was curled up on his lap, shivering. The trainer paused to pat his companion on the head, rubbing his hand down Pikachu's brown-stripped back as to warm him. The Electric-type lifted his head and let out a noise of contentment.

"Oh, you like that, huh?" Ash grinned. "Must feel nice, since it's so cold."

"Yeah, and hopefully it'll all be over soon enough," Iris added. "As soon as we save Moltres, it'll become normal again, right Ash?"

Ash opened his mouth, but he stopped just short of agreeing. Iris furrowed her eyebrows, confused by his hesitation. Even Pikachu seemed put-off.

"Right, so I suggest we get a move-on," Leaf ended up answering for him as she approached the two, and several of the other trainers in the nearby vicinity stopped to pay attention.

"Hey, Leaf." Ash gave her a half-hearted, though friendly salute, but he said nothing else.

"So what did you end up doing with Biff and Cassidy?" Iris continued. "Axew and I didn't see them when we woke up this morning, so we were just curious."

"They'e gone. I sent them off to Birch Town," she explained shortly. "Which is why we need to leave."

A beat of silence followed, and then Dawn, who had listened to the conversation, stepped in.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," she said tentatively, standing up.

"Well, I can assure you that it would be a worse idea to stay here," Leaf told her bluntly.

"Why?" Ritchie inquired.

"There's two Rockets marching their way to Birch Town as we speak," Leaf replied. "I don't want inquiring minds to seek after us."

"How would they?" Silver raised an eyebrow. "You practically erased those Rockets' memories this morning. How would someone know we were here?"

Leaf sucked in her breath, and her mind briefly became jumbled. Silver folded his arms, about to question her further, but Dawn beat him to it.

"Look," she began, "I can understand that you're anxious about this, but we have to think about Paul. It hasn't even been 24 hours since that Ariados poisoned him, and he was running a fever last night. We can't ask him to push himself this early, especially in this weather."

"I agree," Ritchie added. "It might be best if we just hold off for another day. Just one, to give him some more recovery time."

"You know, I would really appreciate it if you asked me for _my_ opinion when it comes to _my_ health," Paul grumbled as he approached the others, with Barry following closely behind, urging him to take it easy. The mauve-haired trainer didn't seem well at all. He had a rather disheveled look about him, and his eyes were dark and dull. "I'm fine. Let's go."

"Great," Leaf said with a surprised though satisfied smile. For once, Paul was with her and not against her. "Pack up. We're leaving in 30 minutes."

Silver watched Leaf as she went, frowning. Dawn turned to Paul.

"Are you crazy?" she asked, approaching him. "You are obviously in no condition to travel."

"And that is not your call to make," Paul retorted.

"Well, someone has to look out for you if you're not going to look after yourself," Dawn fought back. "Has your fever even gone down?" She lifted her hand, apparently to check, but he quickly and pointedly took a step back from her. She furrowed her eyebrows, pursing her lips with annoyance.

"I don't need _anyone_ looking out for me," Paul snarled. His demeanor had suddenly turned aggressive. "Especially you. You're not my girlfriend." He then brushed past her, sliding his hands into the pockets of his jacket as he did. Dawn let out an angry, disbelieving huff as he went.

"All right then," she grumbled before storming off in the opposite direction.

"Trouble in paradise?" Trip asked Paul casually as he passed by.

"Shut up," Paul snapped, without stopping. Trip cocked an eyebrow and shook his head.

Meanwhile, Barry blinked with confusion and watched Dawn as she left in a flurry of frustration.

"Man, what was up with that?" he wondered aloud, scratching the back of his head.

"It really was odd..." Cilan mused.

"Don't make anything of it," Kenny added. "The guy's a jerk. Dawn's just being Dawn and looking out for people..."

"Yeah, but Paul usually gets along with Dawn just fine," Ritchie commented. "This is the first I've seen him this upset."

"The funny thing is, I'd had the impression that he's usually looking out for her, too," May frowned. Her words caught Kenny's attention, and he looked at her with sudden interest. Barry, too, glanced at her, his eyebrows raised.

"What d'you mean by that?" Kenny asked. May paused, thinking.

"I don't know. Remember that time he carried her when her ankle was hurt? And when we were going through Silver City, he helped her out when Piplup ran off, and then he lied to Leaf so she'd yell at him instead of Dawn," she explained. "Plus, did you see what happened yesterday? When that Ariados attacked, he _definitely_ jumped in front of her and Zoey."

"Are you suggesting something's going on between them?" Kenny continued, and Barry frowned.

"Oh... I don't know. Not after that, I suppose. I hadn't really thought of it until now," May confessed. "She watched over him last night, though, didn't she?"

"That's right," Ritchie realized. "Hey, Trip, what do you think? You traded off with Dawn yesterday, right?"

"Yeah," Trip answered shortly. He had returned to his sleeping bag to pack up.

"Did you see anything?"

The Nuvema trainer shrugged.

"There's no sense in poring over it, I suppose," Cilan said. "It's really not any of our business anyway."

"Yeah," Barry agreed, though he seemed unusually subdued. "He was moody this morning when he woke up, anyway. Must be the sickness. Still..." He trailed off, thinking. "... Something must have happened between them yesterday."

"Well, you wouldn't be wrong," Trip muttered under his breath, slipping his camera into his bag.

_**January 13th, 2002. Noon. Indigo Plateau.**_

Cynthia delicately leafed through the Shamouti file, taking in every single detail, handling each word, each note, with care. Wallace was watching her as she examined the file, unable to remain focused himself. Then, he cleared his throat.

"What are you looking for?" he finally asked.

"Something we might have overlooked," Cynthia replied plainly. "Lance might not want to admit it, but the trail is cold. And I mean that both literally and figuratively. Anyway, I suppose I'm just hoping I'll find something... some nugget of information that we need to warm the case again. Otherwise, we'll never find Giovanni."

"What about the Hoenn blueprint Wallace found?" Alder asked her.

"The blueprint means nothing if we can't find where it is," Steven pointed out. "Or find someone who can tell us where it is."

"So, we're doomed then?" Wallace raised an eyebrow.

"Well, let's try to keep an optimistic attitude about it," Cynthia gently admonished. "But, unless we find something, the next opportunity we have at stopping Giovanni and saving Mewtwo and Moltres is when they next attack... and we don't want that for obvious reasons."

The door creaked open, and Lance slipped inside.

"Where have you been?" Cynthia asked. It was not an angry demand; simply a request.

"I was just talking to Agent Adalet," Lance answered. "He was telling me that there were some people who wanted to see us regarding... all this."

"What did you say?" Steven asked.

"I told him to refuse them," Lance replied. "I typically don't meet with people from the street. If they don't have my or any other G-Men agent's number, then they probably aren't close enough to the case to offer anything of value and are therefore wasting time."

"That's..." Cynthia lifted her head slightly. "... a close-minded way of looking at it."

Before Lance had the chance to respond, Wallace's PokéNav suddenly began ringing. A little flustered, the Water Master quickly pulled the device out to answer it. He paused with surprise, however, when he saw whose face appeared on the screen.

"Harley?" Wallace asked, confused.

"Hello, dear cousin," the coordinator greeted enthusiastically. "Listen, I need you to do me a favor: You need to let those people bangin' on the front door of the G-Men HQ in."

"_What_?" Lance spoke up as he looked Wallace's way, surprised.

"That's Solidad there," Harley explained. "And some other folks whom ya'll would be _veeery_ interested in talking to right now. Trust me."

Cynthia didn't ask for any further information, much less permission from Lance. She was already up and on her way downstairs to personally greet their guests.

_**January 13th, 2002. Afternoon. Birch Town.**_

"Officer Jenny!" A low-level officer flew into her office, a wild, confused, perhaps excited look in his eyes. Jenny glanced up from her paperwork, alarmed.

"Yes, what is it?" she asked with deep concern, rising to her feet. Very little ever happened in their tiny town; in fact, the town police department's existence was hardly justified. The most excitement they'd had in several months was actually a couple of days earlier, when they received reports of a Torterra and a couple of other Pokémon marching into the local grocery store, but that situation resolved itself.

"Some Rocket grunts just walked into the front office and held out their wrists, as though they wanted us to just handcuff them and arrest them!" the young officer explained.

"... Did you?" Jenny asked.

The young man's face suddenly paled.

"Um... h-hang on!" He ran out of her office again, and Jenny sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose as she followed him.

In the front lobby, the young officer fumbled with his handcuffs for a moment before slapping a pair on the wrists of the two Rockets.

"Y-You're under arrest for illegal gang association!" he declared proudly. There was a visible change in both the Rockets' eyes, as if they had suddenly snapped out of a trance.

"What the-?" the blonde questioned. "How did we get here?"

"I-I don't know!" her male companion stammered. "Last I remember, we were traveling down the road when-"

Jenny blew her whistle. Suddenly, half a dozen other officers from around the station poured into the lobby, running to restrain the two.

"Perform a strip search," Jenny ordered. "Make sure there's nothing on them that could be potentially harmful to us or the people of this town."

_**January 13th, 2002. Afternoon. Somewhere in Johto.**_

"... Seems like Pierce was right to have suspicions over Butch and Cassidy's no-show," Oakley mused, examining the totaled jeep before looking to her older sister. "This is the car Team Rocket lent out to them. License plate 'OS0057.'"

Annie said nothing. She bent down and brushed her gloved fingers against the ground, examining the streaks of blood on the pavement and broken glass. Someone had been hurt, but the lack of bodies said that no one had been killed.

"What do we do?" Oakley pressed, when Annie didn't answer. "If they've been captured, we have to find them before Lance gets to them."

Annie pressed her lips into a hard line.

"I know."

_**January 13th, 2002. Afternoon. Indigo Plateau.**_

Lance's head was spinning, which had not happened in years. After training under Drayden, after having been involved in the G-Men for so long, after speaking with a Legendary Pokémon, he felt there really was nothing left in the world that could surprise him. He'd seen it all. He'd heard it all.

This case was turning that notion on its head.

"If I may," Wallace began calmly, scanning over his notes—he had started taking them when he realized there was a lot to be said, a lot to be explained—before looking up, "can we go back to the part where, you, Solidad, said that—what's his name?—Chris Hayden was the one to pull funds out of the Johto Grand Festival?"

"Yes," the woman spoke slowly, nodding. She and the other guests were seated around the table at which the Champions had been searching through files. The files had been cleared away, though. The answer lied not in paper, but in the people in front of them.

"He didn't specify where he put those funds?" Wallace pressed.

"No," Solidad shook her head. "He just said it was something Drew was 'fundamentally opposed to.' And then he spoke about this project... he didn't say it by name, but all signs point to it being Project Legendary."

"Which, you, Brandon," Wallace then turned to the Frontier Brain, "were involved in?"

"Regrettably," Brandon replied. Reggie cast his father a wary glance.

"If that's case," Lance spoke up as he pushed himself off the wall and walked toward his desk. He opened up the drawer and pulled out the fated blueprint, spreading it open in front of Brandon, "do you know anything about this?"

"Mew," Brock leaned across the table to get a better look at the paper, "there's a Rocket base in _Hoenn_?"

"Wait, so, like, they're not just in Kanto?" Daisy asked, also craning her neck to look at the prints.

"I think we established a long time ago, Daisy, when Mewtwo started attacking regions beyond the Kanto borders," Maylene said.

Brandon pressed his lips into a hard line, thinking.

"I'm sorry," he finally apologized. "I don't know anything about this at all."

"I think this was actually after Brandon's unintentional tenure with Team Rocket," Steven pointed out. "The Viridian City Gym was abandoned in late '97. Brandon worked on Project Legendary in... ?"

"1994," Brandon answered.

"Doesn't hurt to ask," Lance stated plainly.

"Still," Cynthia continued, "I think this all fits together. Lance, weren't you the one saying that there had to have been a benefactor of sorts in order for Team Rocket to build another base?"

"Yes," Lance answered. "We knew the organization was in the red by the time the G-Men started catching up to it four years ago. Now, I can presume that Project Legendary, the creation of Mewtwo, dried up a lot of Giovanni's finances. And Brandon backing out made it worse, because that was money wasted."

"Well, Chris Hayden is our answer," Cynthia said matter-of-factly. "He funded Team Rocket once, and now he's funding them again. Project Legendary is back on. This was what Giovanni wanted when he cloned Mewtwo originally; it just took a while to get the ball rolling, because Mewtwo escaped twice. The question is, why are Ash and the others a part of it?"

"There are a lot of variables," Tracey mused. "The Shamouti prophecy might be a part of it—after all, Giovanni did send Mewtwo to retrieve Moltres—but it could also do with the fact that Ash helped Mewtwo escape the second time. Maybe it's a synthesis of the two. Maybe we're missing something entirely."

"We can't pore over that question," Lance insisted, "because there's simply no way we'll be able to answer it ourselves."

"We need Chris," Reggie said, understanding what the Indigo Champion meant.

"And I get that," Solidad said. "But I honestly couldn't tell you where he is or how to find him. The most I know is that he's probably from La Rousse. That's Drew's hometown."

"That's really all you need to tell us," Cynthia said as she pulled out her laptop and booted it up. "We can search the G-Men's database for him. If he's in there, it'll be easy to contact him again."

"The difficult thing is getting him to talk..." Steven's voice trailed off.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Cynthia entered the name 'Chris Hayden' into the search bar and pressed 'enter.' A list of results from throughout all the regions was quickly compiled.

"No one from La Rousse," Cynthia commented aloud. "But let's check these 'Chris Haydens' out. They'll all have picture IDs, so speak up when you see him, Solidad."

Lance heard his video phone go off in the other room. The Dragon Master furrowed his eyebrows, annoyed, but he quietly excused himself.

He approached the phone quickly and answered, half-expecting it to be Clair, possibly to warn him that Solidad and the others were coming, albeit after the fact. He found himself surprised for a second time that hour when the caller was an Officer Jenny.

"Champion Lance, sir." The officer saluted him over the video feed. "This is Officer Jenny of Birch Town. I called to report something that may be of your concern."

"Birch Town, Johto?"

"That's right, sir."

"What happened?"

"Two Rocket grunts unexpectedly turned themselves in at our station today," she explained. "A search of their person turned up a note addressed to you: 'We are alive.' We believe it may be a threat from the larger body of Team Rocket."

Lance's eyes widened. Realization had suddenly hit him. _Johto_.

"We are alive," he repeated. "We are alive... !"

"Yes?" Jenny seemed confused. "That's what the note said." Lance's bottom lip curved into a rare smile.

"It's not from Team Rocket," he said, and Jenny seemed to be taken aback.

"How can you be sure?" she asked. "What other reason would Rockets turn themselves in, unless they were attempting to make a statement?'

"Tell me, did the grunts seem to be in a trance when they turned themselves in?" Lance inquired. Jenny blinked.

"Well... I suppose now I think about it..." she seemed hesitant.

"I thought so," Lance said. "My apologies. I was in the middle of an important meeting when you called. I will discuss this again with you later. For now, keep the Rockets in holding, and send me a fax of that note."

"Y-Yes sir."

"No, none of these men are him..." Solidad mumbled to Cynthia as Lance re-entered the room. "Maybe... try Christopher Hayden. That's his full name."

"Similar results would have already been included," Cynthia informed her. "If he's not in here, then he's not in here." Solidad's expression fell.

"Our data is collected from trainers who register themselves in official events, such as contests, leagues, and tournaments," Steven elaborated. "Perhaps he's never participated in the likes of any of that."

"No..." Solidad bleated, as she buried her face in her hands. "Oh Arceus. I wasn't wrong."

"Wasn't wrong about what?" Maylene asked.

"Chris Hayden isn't his name," Solidad mumbled, her head still hanging low. "I explained this to Harley: When we met, he didn't respond to Mr. Hayden. It must be because Hayden isn't his real last name. I was trying to pass it off as grief, but I wasn't wrong. It really isn't his name."

"But isn't Drew's last name Hayden?" Brock quirked an eyebrow.

"As far as he's told me, yes," Solidad answered. "But, I had a thought... Brandon made Paul and Reggie change their last names as to prevent Giovanni from finding them. What if Drew did the same? After he left home?"

"That's an awful lot of complex thinking for a 10-year-old," Lance said doubtfully.

"Then again, this is the same Drew who figured out that _Ash_ was the connecting point between Mewtwo's attacks, not the status as gym leaders," Steven conceded.

"Smart kid," Alder mused.

Solidad was silent for a long moment as she ran her fingers though her hair. Then:

"I need to speak with him," she said.

"Excuse me?" Wallace inquired.

"I need to speak with Drew," Solidad clarified. "Only he can corroborate the theory that he changed his last name. I went to Clair to try to talk to him, but she turned me away. If I could just get your permission..." Lance felt his uplifted mood drop back into the pit of his stomach.

"We can arrange for that," Cynthia nodded.

"No," Lance interjected firmly, and suddenly, everyone's eyes were on him.

"And why not?" Cynthia asked.

Lance paused to suck in his breath. He bit his tongue and closed his eyes. He was caught. Steven frowned. Lance's expression said it all.

"Because they're not at Dragon's Den," the former Hoenn Champion answered, "are they?

"No," Lance admitted, "and they never were. Clair didn't turn you away because she wanted you to seek after my permission. She knew they weren't there, and she didn't say otherwise because I told her not to."

"_What_?" Cynthia jumped to her feet. Everyone else seemed just as surprised as she. "But you said-"

"I know what I said," Lance hissed. "I lied."

"But, why?" Wallace asked.

"Because I didn't want our attention to be diverted away from our primary objective," Lance answered plainly.

"Our primary purpose," Cynthia spat, "was to protect those children. Which we aren't doing right now. Not only have we lied to the public, we've been lying to all these people here, and the parents back home!"

"They're fine," Lance fought back. "They're with Leaf. I just received word from her that they're alive."

"Hold on," Reggie interjected. "They're with Leaf? I thought they were with that other agent who came to Ketchum house the night they left."

Cynthia let out a sigh and buried her face in her hands; she knew it would come to this.

"Yes, they are with Leaf," Lance repeated tersely. "And no, Adalet was just the one driving the bus. He has been here helping me."

"You deliberately misled us," Reggie accused.

"I did not," Lance defended. "You made assumptions."

"Because I think none of us expected you'd leave a _teenager_ in charge," Solidad rallied with Reggie. "Is that why this is happening at all? To the point where you mean to say you weren't even sure they were _alive_ or not?"

"I always knew they were," Lance amended. "Lugia said they were, and I knew Giovanni would make a show of it if he captured them."

"Well, we have to do something!" Daisy suddenly exclaimed. "We have to look for them!"

"If you want to expend your energies doing so, then fine," Lance told the blonde. "But you will never find them. I explained this all to Adalet not long ago."

"_Adalet_ knew, but you didn't tell us?" Wallace asked, appalled.

"I didn't because I knew you would react like this," Lance replied.

"So we just let them freeze?" Maylene asked.

"I think you underestimate their tenacity," Lance said. "I realize that many of you are confident in the theory that Ash is actually the 'Chosen One.' Why not let that run its course? I'm presuming they didn't just skip out on Dragon's Den because they felt rebellious. You may yell and be angry with me all you want, but that will change nothing. You want those kids home? If we take down Giovanni, I guarantee they'll find themselves for us."

"Fine," Cynthia agreed, and almost everyone seemed surprised that she had agreed. "But, you need Chris to do that, and we don't even have his real name. That seems like a more impossible search to me."

"Chris is at least on the map," Lance replied. "Those kids aren't. The world still thinks they're dead and gone, and I trust that they'll do their best to maintain that façade, wherever they are."

"How do you suggest we find him?" Solidad asked.

"I'm going to request that Raoul Contesta disclose who that sponsor was," Lance explained. "We'll go from there."

"And we can get some help, too," Cynthia added. Lance looked at her strangely.

"Help from who?" he asked.

"A man who doesn't have a name himself," she answered plainly.

_**January 13th, 2002. Evening. Somewhere in Johto.**_

"I feel like there's going to come a point when we'll have to eat straight from the pot, as uncouth as that is," Cilan frowned as he stirred his night's creation: a simple soup. "At the rate this weather is going, food will begin to go cold as soon as it leaves the fire."

"Ooh, eating straight from the pot," Drew teased as Cilan poured him a bowl. "What are we but uncivilized folk if we resort to those measures!"

"_Exactly_," Cilan called after the coordinator as he left, pleased that someone seemed to understand him.

"I think that was sarcasm," Zoey informed the connoisseur, and his expression fell.

"Oh..."

"Don't look so upset," May encouraged. "Drew is sarcastic about 50 percent of the time."

"Yeah, it really is weird how well you two get along for that reason," Dawn smiled and chuckled.

"Ha, you just think that 'cause you haven't seen us compete against each other yet," May snorted. "Trust me, if there was a contest tomorrow, we'd be at each other's throats."

"Ah, the fires of competition," Cilan's mood picked back up. "Watching a battle between you two would be _intéressant_. Especially since I imagine the heated embers of your affection for each other would add much to those ambitious flames."

May tensed up, turning red.

"W-What do you mean by that?" she demanded, flustered.

"It means exactly what you think it does." A breath of silence followed as Paul approached to receive his ration of food. May didn't bother to reply, as she realized he had already shifted his attention away from her. He was watching Dawn carefully, and she seemed to be glaring back at him, her arms folded. As soon as he collected his soup, he was gone again.

"OK," Zoey began slowly, turning to Dawn. "Now it's driving me crazy. What _happened_ between you two?"

"Hm? Oh nothing," Dawn insisted.

"I'm pretty sure something happened," Zoey pressed. "You two have been on-edge all day, especially around each other."

"Well, we had a fight," Dawn dismissed as she sat down in the grass. "I'm just... annoyed with him right now."

"I can see where Zoey's suspicion is coming from," Cilan joined in. Dawn looked at him strangely, and then at May for her thoughts.

"Um..." May began hesitantly. "It was just odd this morning. I mean, I know Paul isn't the most agreeable person ever, but he seemed unusually... more disagreeable. With you."

"I think the question I and everyone else have is why he made it a point to say you're not his girlfriend," Zoey elaborated.

Dawn paused, growing the tiniest bit flustered; she anxiously bit the tip of her thumb and looked away when Zoey sat next to her. Now Cilan and May both seemed fully captivated, too.

"Well, uh..." the blunette began nervously. "OK. I'll tell you. I didn't really want to talk to anyone about it, because I didn't want to start a bunch of stupid drama within the group, so I'd prefer this not be more public information."

"I can leave, if you would like," Cilan offered graciously.

"No, that's fine," Dawn refused. "You can stay."

Cilan appeared confused, but he nodded anyway. May also dropped to her knees, waiting for Dawn's answer.

"Also, when I tell you..." Dawn continued slowly, "... please don't freak out. You, especially, Zoey."

"I won't," Zoey assured her. "I promise."

"All right." Dawn seemed a bit more confident now. "Paul... kissed me last night."

"_Oh my gosh_," May half-squealed, before remembering Dawn's preference to keep calm. "I mean, I'm not judging you or freaking out, but wow!"

"I certainly wouldn't have expected that," Cilan added. "What an unusual taste, the two of you. Although, I suppose it could work; sweet and sour is a delicious flavor, if the ingredients are balanced."

"Ugh," Zoey let out a disbelieving huff, though she wore a surprised half-smile. "I knew it. That twit. He told me he didn't have feelings for you."

"You two _discussed_ this?" Dawn appalled.

"I've been wondering for a little while now," Zoey admitted, "with the way he's been treating you, but I was trying not to worry about it, because I decided he was probably too prideful to do anything about it, much less admit it."

"Well, never mind that!" May interjected. "What was it like? How did it happen?"

Dawn let out a short, embarrassed laugh.

"To be honest, it was weird," she explained. "It just kind of happened. There wasn't much that led up to it; it was completely out of left field. He did say something about being glad I was OK, since he and Gastrodon defended me and Zoey from that Ariados."

Zoey blinked and found herself silent for a long moment, thinking.

"And, how do you feel about it?" she finally asked. Dawn shrugged.

"I... I really don't know," she confessed. "I guess I was fine with it—I mean, I, ah, went along with it and kissed him back—but then this morning..."

"Right," Zoey understood. "He was a jerk to you."

"I guess I'm just confused," Dawn went on. "I just... I don't know. It was stupid. I don't know why he's behaving this way."

Zoey breathed in, thinking back to the night in the cave, when she had pulled Paul aside. She wondered, had he purposefully done this to spite her. Paul had said himself he didn't like other people telling him what to do. He very well could have decided to kiss Dawn simply because Zoey had told him to back off. The thought made her blood boil.

"Insight, Cilan?" May turned a curious eye to the connoisseur.

"Well, I can't speak _for_ Paul," he prefaced, "I can only share out of my own experiences. Perhaps he's just overwhelmed and isn't sure how to respond. Kissing a lady is quite the nerve-wracking feat, especially if you hold special feelings for her."

"Special... ?" Dawn muttered the term weakly before burying her face in her hands. "No, no, no, that can't be it. Paul? That's crazy. Ugh, none of it makes sense. I didn't want this."

"Then why worry about it?" Zoey asked. "If you don't reciprocate, and he's not interested anyway, then just don't bother with it."

"I suppose," Dawn mumbled.

"Why wouldn't he be interested?" May inquired. "Isn't a kiss generally a sign of, I don't know, _interest_?"

"For some guys, yes," Zoey answered. "For others, not so much."

May paused to process Zoey's words; she glanced toward the direction Drew had gone. He was seated with Gary and Ritchie, and he seemed to be getting along well. She frowned before looking back at Dawn.

"You're right," Dawn gave in. "I'm just not going to think about. I'll pretend it never happened. Paul will have to get over himself."

"There you go!" Zoey smiled and laughed. Cilan flicked his eyes toward her and raised his eyebrows.

* * *

"Hey, you feelin' OK?"

Paul was lying face down in his sleeping bag, and hearing that voice did not particularly make him want to change his position. He heaved a sigh and replied anyway:

"I've had better days."

Ash plopped down beside his Sinnoh rival, crossing his legs. Paul moved his head just the slightest bit, if only to glare at him.

"The effects of the poison must still be keepin' you down, huh?" he asked.

"... Yeah."

Ash frowned.

"Y'know, if you weren't so stubborn and had just opted to rest for another day, maybe you wouldn't be feeling so bad," Ash said. "We probably could've convinced Leaf to stick around another day."

"Seriously?" Paul propped himself up on his arms; he didn't particularly want to speak with his rival then, but he was feeling pressed. "_You_ of all people are going lecture _me_ about being stubborn?"

"It is an oxymoron," Misty commented from afar.

"OK, OK," Ash conceded. "But, still, why were you so dead-set on leaving?"

"Because I don't like people making my decisions," Paul replied gruffly.

"Wait..." Kenny, who was seated nearby and had eavesdropped on the conversation, turned around. "You mean Dawn?"

"Not her specifically," Paul replied coolly. "It doesn't matter who. I don't want people to speak on my behalf; that's for me to do."

"Well, what's so bad about letting friends look out for you?" Ash asked.

"Dawn is _not_ my friend," Paul answered firmly.

"Yeah, and she's not your girlfriend, either," Kenny swept in.

"Neither is she to you," Paul sneered. "Was that supposed to be some kind of jab? 'Cause it's not. My relationship with Dawn or anyone else is no one's business."

"Hey, hey!" Barry interjected. "Everybody just calm down, or I'll have to fine all of you. Kenny, let's go. We should be getting to sleep anyway."

With Barry's coaxing, Kenny stood down; Misty then beckoned for Ash to join her and leave Paul alone, lest another fight ensue. Alone once again, Paul settled back into his sleeping back.

"Rough day?"

Paul groaned.

"Not you again," he grumbled.

Trip set his bag on the ground. He apparently intended to set up his sleeping arrangements there. Paul normally might have told the trainer to bug off, but he was in a state of such ambivalence that even that was worth too much effort.

"Have you been telling people about last night?" Paul asked after a while.

"No," Trip replied plainly. "All the backlash you've received today is your own fault. I get that you were trying to make a point to Dawn, but if you don't want people to stick their noses into your business, then don't make it a public event. And if you're looking for people to take your side, then don't pick a fight with someone who's well-liked among the group. Those Sinnoh friends of hers will defend her tooth and nail."

"Yeah, I noticed," Paul replied gruffly. "And I'm not looking to gain favor with anyone. I just want to be left _alone_."

Trip raised an eyebrow; surely he understood the hint Paul was dropping, he was just choosing to ignore it. Paul swore this kid was just trying to get on his nerves.

"Well, except maybe Dawn," Trip said casually.

"I don't care what Dawn thinks about me."

"Oh, I think you do. You know you do, too, you're just not willing to admit it." Trip smirked. "Why'd you kiss her?"

Paul emitted a low growl.

"Don't ask dumb questions," he said.

Trip scoffed.

"Sheesh," he began, "whatever issues you have, you really need to sort them out. You obviously like this girl; you're just really terrible at executing your feelings. Like, awful. Even Drew does a better job than you."

"I'd like you to be quiet now."

"Fine," Trip shrugged. "No skin off my back."

* * *

"Ash, you know better than to start fights," Misty chastised as soon as the raven-haired boy rejoined her.

"I wasn't trying to start a fight," Ash pouted. "Pikachu, you agree with me, right?"

The Electric-type was waiting on top of his trainer's sleeping bag, but the Pokémon merely folded his arms and shrugged. Ash glowered at his partner, and Misty let out a chuckle.

"I'm serious," Ash persisted, looking back at the redhead. "I'm not trying to start fights; maybe I didn't go about it the right way, but I just feel bad when my friends get mad at each other."

"Oh, so Paul's your friend now?" Misty asked, amused. "That's a change."

"Well, he probably doesn't think the same," Ash admitted, "but after what he did for me... It was cool, ya know? Really, uh... nice. And surprising."

His voice grew more distant as he spoke, and Misty pressed her lips together, suddenly becoming serious.

"Ash, are you all right?" she asked, concerned. "You've been getting a little more spacey over the past couple days."

"Yeah, I'm fine..." Ash answered with a shrug. "I guess the pressure's just gotten to my head a little bit. You know me. I, uh, you know bite of more than I can chew a lot."

"Are you nervous about Mewtwo and Moltres? Because you know you have all our support," Misty assured him. Ash tried for a smile, but he ended up looking away as he slid into his sleeping bag.

"Yeah... I know."

_**January 13th, 2002. Evening. Indigo Plateau.**_

"This is him," Lance began plainly, sliding the paper file across the table. "I got this information from Raoul Contesta earlier today. He was set to sponsor the Johto Grand Festival, but he pulled out. We believe he did this to invest his funding into a Team Rocket project. We want to bring him in for questioning."

Looker accepted the file, opening it up and skimming through it.

"A paper file," he commented, "how very bureaucratic of you."

Lance's upper lip twitched.

"The owner of the Battle Tower in La Rousse, hm?" Looker continued. "Very interesting. That's an identifiable location. What do you need my help for?"

"Wallace sent Hoenn agents to La Rousse this afternoon to seek after him," Lance answered plainly. "They found no one. I would prefer to keep this case within the G-Men, but it's come to a point where I must reach out for other help. Cynthia said you would be the person to contact."

"Well, Miss Cynthia is right," Looker agreed. "I am the person you need. I will find him, but it may take some time."

"I don't have a lot of that to give," Lance said. "If you haven't noticed yet, we are rapidly descending into another ice age."

"I understand," Looker nodded. "But I can't force this. I can promise that I will find him. I just can't promise that it will be soon. Until then, you have that Rocket duo in holding at Birch Town. Concentrate on them, and I will concentrate on Chris."

Lance breathed in a silent note.

"Fine," he said. He extended his hand, and they shook on it.

_**January 14th, 2002. Middle of the night. Birch Town.**_

"Cassidy?" Butch breathed inquisitively into the darkness. He wasn't sure whether his partner was awake or not; he couldn't tell. They were in separate cells, and he couldn't see her.

"Yeah?" Butch was surprised to hear her groggy reply.

"Ya ever wonder if we made the right choice joining Team Rocket?" he asked.

"Don't be stupid," Cassidy murmured back. "Of course we did. What else would we be doing if we didn't?"

He wanted to say they wouldn't be in jail, but he realized one way or another, they'd be in jail anyway. He wasn't going to press the issue tonight, so he rolled over in his cheap, moldy bed, planning to go to sleep. As he began to drift into twilight however, the quiescent atmosphere was suddenly, rudely, and very loudly burst with the explosive blow-out of concrete on the other side of his cell.

Butch jolted awake and fell out of bed, screaming. The blast had caught him completely off-guard, and it left a painful ringing in his ears. He looked up, suddenly being enveloped in a bright light, seeing a dark, slender figure stand before him.

"Come on, idiot," Oakley sneered, seeing his awed expression. "Let's go before officers come after us."

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_A/N: I didn't want to make this note, since I would much rather prefer to address my readers through private messaging, but seeing as how I've a few guest reviewers take issue with this, I'll talk about it briefly. A few are put off by the fact that Ash has been relatively inactive for the past few chapters and are complaining that I've been ignoring my protagonist._

_Ash's inaction is purposeful at this point in the story. I am fully aware of the fact he is not doing much, and I'm glad you are, too. I will continue to insist he is the main character, despite his current subordinate role. I apologize if I sound abrasive—I don't intend to—but I ask that you stop sending me messages complaining about his role or telling me he should be removed from the character list._

_If you desire more elaboration, please send me a message._

_-Lu_

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	20. XVIII: In Which Ursula Finds Out

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Chapter XVIII: In Which Ursula Finds Out

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_**February 3rd, 2002. Middle of the night. Goldenrod City.**_

"Hold the press! Hold the press!" The breaking news editor of Pokémon News International shouted as he dropped his phone and tore out of the office, running down the hallway. "Somebody call the publisher and tell them we need to rework the front page!"

"What happened?" A young late-night shift reporter asked, utterly baffled by her boss's behavior. Working at the news desk this hour meant she was used to reporting on breaking stories, but it was all small-time—at least, for a national paper it was. Moreover, the paper was rarely ever held at this hour; deadline for print was 11 p.m., and it was almost 3 a.m. At this point, everything was usually thrown up online.

"The G-Men have just arrested someone who might be in connection with Team Rocket. They're going to bring him in for questioning," the editor told her. "I need you to call media relations for the G-Men at the Indigo Plateau and get a statement."

"Me?" The reporter blinked.

"Yeah, you. You see any other writers around her?" the editor scoffed. "Congrats, kid. Your byline's going to be at the top of one of the world's most read newspapers."

_**February 3rd, 2002. Early Morning. Pewter City.**_

Solidad was awoken by the sound of her cell phone ringing. Exhausted, she let out a long half-sigh, half-groan as she picked it up. It was a text message from Tracey, reading, "Check the news."

It took her tired mind a moment to process his words, but as soon as she did, her heart stopped. Suddenly feeling very awake, she stumbled out of bed and hurried into her living room, grabbing the remote and turning on the TV.

"_For those of you just joining us, an arrest in connection with Team Rocket was made late last night. The G-Men have not released the name of the individual, and it is unknown how involved this person was with the attacks on the gym leaders by a mysterious Pokémon in December and the disappearance of Moltres in early January. The suspect is being transported to the G-Men headquarters at the Indigo Plateau, and-_"

There was a knock at the door. Solidad tightened her night robe around her and went to answer. On her doorstep stood Brock, looking like he had just rolled out of bed himself.

"Did you hear the news?" he asked without greeting.

"Yes, I'm watching it right now," she said, ushering him inside.

"Is it Chris?"

"I'm fairly certain, yes. Have you talked to Reggie?"

"No. I found out from Tracey."

"Same. In that case, I'm sure he told him, Maylene, and Brandon as well." Solidad rubbed her hands together anxiously, thinking. "Do you think Lance will let us see him? I didn't even know they were close. I feel like he's still been keeping us in the dark since we last saw him in January."

"Possibly," Brock answered. "And maybe they didn't know themselves. We don't know if Looker was keeping them updated or anything."

"Right, right..." Solidad shifted her eyes back to her cell phone, which now laid on top of her coffee table. "I'll bet Harley can hook us up with Wallace again."

"That is, if he's not too busy being Johto's newest Top Coordinator," Brock grumbled.

Solidad picked up her phone and began dialing.

"Harley's never too busy for me."

_**February 3rd, 2002. Morning. Unknown Location.**_

"Oh Lance," Giovanni chortled, shaking his head. He was seated in front of television, legs crossed, looking quite comfortable. He had a copy of that day's Pokémon News International newspaper on his lap, though it turned was to the weather section rather than the feature story. Temperatures were continuing to drop across the nation. "You must think you're so clever, don't you?"

"You're not concerned, sir?" Dr. Zager asked.

"No," Giovanni answered. "Christopher doesn't know anything that could be of substantive benefit to the G-Men."

"What will you do without him?"

"We don't need him anymore," Giovanni said in a matter-of-fact tone. "He'll get his compensation when we're in control. For now, he'll have to suffer through whatever the G-Men put him through; it's not my fault they caught onto his coattails."

_**February 3rd, 2002. Late Morning. Olivine City.**_

"I need to purchase fifteen tickets on the boat that departs for Hoenn at 8 p.m. tonight."

The attendant looked at Leaf, surprised, which the agent had expected. Fifteen was a lot; it was going to cost a lot, too, especially since they would all go to waste. Luckily for her, the financial burden would fall to the G-Men rather than her personal accounts.

"I'm vacationing with my extended family," Leaf offered as a cheap excuse, having devised it on the walk to the seaport. "There's quite a number of us."

"Of course," the attendant nodded before accepting Leaf's credit card and swiping it through the machine. Leaf watched as the tickets were printed; the trap had been set. She now just needed to make full use of it.

Outside, Leaf's eyes became dry from the cold, and she rubbed them with her gloved hands. She wondered how long it would be before weather reached arctic temperatures: a year? six months? a month? It had been three weeks since Moltres was taken by Team Rocket, and if this was the result, it could potentially become a lot worse.

She was about to head back to camp outside of Olivine, but as she started, she noticed the word 'G-Men' printed in big letters on the front cover of Pokémon News International at its newsstand. She quickly turned and hurried over to it, picking up a copy: "G-Men Arrest Suspect in Connection With TR." Below the headline was a blurry photo of what appeared to be a green-haired man being taken into custody.

"Hey, girly, you wanna read, you gotta pay," The newsie held his hand out, demanding money.

"How much?" Leaf asked.

"$3.00."

She reached back into her wallet and pulled out three crisp bills, handing them to the man. She then took the paper with her, reading it as she walked along the seaport, heading back to camp.

Ice crystals had formed along the docks; even the great ocean was not immune to the great evils that had befallen them. If everything went according to her plan, however, Ash Ketchum would get to set things right again.

The group had arrived late last night after nearly a whole month of expedited traveling across the Johto region. They weren't pausing to do any sight-seeing, and no one was competing in contests or challenging gyms, so the journey seemed shorter than most had predicted it would be. A thorough exploration of a region for a trainer required a year, but they weren't traveling for fun.

"Hey, where've you been?" Gary asked as Leaf breezed by in her return. She stuffed her newspaper into her bag before turning to face him.

"Getting these," she said as she reached into her pocket.

"Tickets?"

"To Hoenn."

"But we're not actually going to use them?"

"No." Leaf shook her head. "We're still headed to Sinnoh."

"And how do plan for us to do that?" The Pallet trainer raised an eyebrow.

Leaf's hand dropped to her side.

"I'm still working that out," she admitted, half grumbling. "But, not to worry, it shouldn't be too hard to sneak sixteen teenagers onto a boat without anyone recognizing them."

"I hope that was sarcasm."

"Oh believe me, Garebear," she said, rolling her eyes. "It was."

* * *

Relations had improved between Dawn and Paul, but not by much. Rather than glaring or sending each other wary looks, they had simply learned to ignore the other; they didn't go out of their way to avoid speaking, but they hardly ever purposefully engaged in conversation anymore. Not that they did much before, but the divide between them was still noticeable.

The situation, however, had also rendered Paul practically silent. Without the few times he ever talked to Dawn, his conversations were mostly limited to Trip, Barry, and Ash. More often than not, they ended unpleasantly. Sometimes he fought with Drew, but picking at the green-haired coordinator's annoyances had started to bore him. The coordinator was either getting better at dealing with it, or he was mellowing out. Maybe it was a combination of both.

Dawn ventured to her bag to retrieve her gloves. Paul cast her a sideways glance, but for a while, he didn't say anything. Then just as she was about to leave:

"What day is it?"

Dawn stopped. She looked at him over her shoulder.

"What?" she inquired, confused.

"What day is it?" Paul repeated. "Do you know?"

"Oh! Um..." She paused, thinking. "I'm pretty sure it's February 3rd."

"Hm. Thought so."

"Why? Is there some special about the 3rd?"

"It's not important."

"No, seriously." Dawn suddenly stopped, realizing that she perhaps treading into dangerous territory. Paul had his ticks—a lot of them, actually—and while she didn't know most of them, a big 'no-no' was pressing him on things that he didn't want to talk about, especially if it dealt with his family. She felt a stone drop in her stomach when she got it in her head that maybe the 3rd was the anniversary of his mother's death.

"I'm 16," he finally answered.

Dawn blinked. Then, her eyes grew bright and starry.

"It's your birthday?" she asked excitedly. Their anger, their silent agreement to not speak to each other, everything, was suddenly thrown out the window. Dawn couldn't be mad at someone on their birthday; it was simply impossible.

"Please don't make a big deal out of it."

"Paul, it's your 16th birthday. It is a big deal."

"I'm sure Reggie will want to celebrate when I get back to civilization." Paul didn't seem too thrilled about that prospect, either. "The dead don't have birthdays."

"Well, we should still do something to commemorate it."

"Dawn, I swear to Arceus, if you convince the others to sing 'Happy Birthday' to me, I will never talk to you again."

The coordinator was well-aware of how serious his threat was, and she knew he would carry through with it without hesitation if she went against his wishes. So, she let out a sigh, shaking her head.

"All right, I get it. You don't want attention," she said. "But, still... Happy Birthday, OK?"

"... Yeah."

She offered him an awkward smile before turning and heading off to rejoin her friends. Paul watched her as she went, before laying back into the grass. The sky was gray that day; a veil of clouds covered the sky, and it had been that way for a while. He felt there was a bit of sunshine peeking through, though.

* * *

"So, what's the story with this guy?" Misty asked, giving Ash's Infernape a nice pat on the snout. Leaf had advised that there should be no wood burned so close to town, so to keep warm, several had called out their Fire-type Pokémon as they had on top of Mt. Silver.

"Funny thing," Ash replied, as he patted Pikachu on top of his head, "he used to belong to Paul as a Chimchar."

Misty raised her eyebrows.

"Seriously?"

"Did you guys trade or something?" May asked.

"Nah, he ended up releasing Chimchar," Ash explained. "They were, uh, not compatible. If Cilan had done one of his 'Tasting Time' things on them back then, the result wouldn't have been too good."

"How didn't they get along?" Kenny asked.

"Er... it's a long story," Ash waved his hand. "The point is, Infernape and I are good and happy together now."

Misty understood what was happening; she didn't know the full story, either, but it obviously wasn't a good one. Ash was avoiding tell people about it as to keep several others from worsening their already poor opinion of Paul. Some of their fellow trainers—Kenny in particular—had turned more fully against Paul since the incident with Dawn last month, and he hadn't been able to recover any brownie points from anyone (not that he seemed to be seeking after them).

Ash seemed to share the same view as her: that Paul was being judged too harshly. It was true that his spat with Dawn had come off as nasty, but it also seemed that everyone else was experiencing short-term memory loss, forgetting that Paul had done really, really good things for the group, too. Without him, they would have never gone to Mt. Silver, and they wouldn't be where they were now.

Oddly, it sparked a sense of respect for Ash in Misty. Ash had been her friend for a long time, of course, and though he was often immature, he also proved to be the bigger person in a lot of situations. Like this one.

"Hey Dawn," Ash greeted the blunette with a grin when she approached the group.

"Hi," she forced a quick greeting, smiling. "Listen, could I talk to you for a moment? Alone?"

Ash's face twisted with confusion, but he nodded anyway. Misty blinked, intrigued, too, as Ash stood up and headed off with the coordinator, leaving Pikachu behind. The Electric-type didn't seem offended, though; he simply hopped into Misty's lap, cutely asking her for attention in his own language. The redhead smiled and scratched him beneath his chin, before a question from Ritchie pulled her back into reality.

"What's up?" Ash asked, sounding very concerned and thinking perhaps something was wrong as he and Dawn went off to the side.

"I was wondering if you could borrow your hoodie," she asked. Ash appeared relieved; it didn't seem so serious after all.

"You cold or something?" Ash asked, though he showed no hesitation in removing his hooded sweatshirt and offering it to her. "This 'oughta keep you warm. I usually like to sleep in it—makes me feel toasty in my sleeping bag, even with these temperatures. I hope you don't mind that."

Dawn blinked, surprised he had simply handed it over to her without a second thought.

"Thanks." She smiled, pulling the sweatshirt over her head. It was, as she had hoped, way too big for her petite frame. In truth, she was not cold. Her own jacket was more than sufficient for her; she wanted Ash's sweatshirt because she thought its size might help disguise herself. She was going to explain this all to him and hope he would go along with it, but he had provided her with a good excuse.

"Hey, if you want, you can join me and Mist' and some of the others by Infernape. His fur's super warm," Ash offered.

"Ah... no thanks," Dawn gently refused. "I have, um, a thing I need to do. But, no need to worry, OK?"

"All right. Catch you later, cool?" Ash waved her off as he returned to the others, and Dawn let out a long sigh before pulling the hood over her head.

_**February 3rd, 2002. Late Morning. Viridian City.**_

Cynthia was now more visibly pregnant, to the point where it wasn't exactly something she could hide any longer. She hadn't been in public much, so rumors and speculations had yet to be confirmed across media outlets, but for anyone who met her in person, it was clear she was about four months along.

"Where did you find him?" she asked, legs crossed as she sat across from Looker. The detective seemed exhausted, with large bags under his eyes; when he had an assignment, he threw himself into his work 100 percent. The result was often draining, though he was always successful in his endeavors.

"Not in La Rousse." Looker took a sip of his coffee. "I believe he knew he was risking a lot being in his hometown with the G-Men vigorously seeking after Moltres. No, I found him in Maroon City."

"Johto?"

"That's right."

"I suppose that makes sense. Solidad last met with him in Blackthorn City, Johto, right at the start of the Johto Grand Festival. Maroon City isn't too far away from there. Still, the festival ended weeks ago. I wonder why he continued to hang around there?"

Looker shrugged.

"Convenience, I suppose," he said. "I'm not sure it has any relevance, but I'll leave that to Lance's judgement."

The door slid open and in walked Wallace, with Solidad, Brock, Reggie, and Maylene following behind. Cynthia smiled and rose to her feet to greet them.

"I'm guessing you watched the news?" she humored.

"So it is true then?" Maylene asked. "You have Chris?"

"Oh yes," Cynthia nodded. "Thanks to Looker, here. Chris is in this building, actually. Lance, Steven, and Alder are talking to him as we speak."

"Does he know where that Hoenn base is?" Brock asked.

"We're not sure," Cynthia admitted. "We can only hope."

"Yeah," Reggie pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Well, let's."

* * *

"I have already told you everything I know," Chris sighed, frustrated.

"I don't believe you," Lance scoffed.

"I shouldn't have to say anything more. You can't just have some rogue police officer arrest me and drag me here so you can question me," Chris argued back.

"We are allowed to hold you without charge for 30 days," Steven calmly pointed out. He and Alder were seated nearby on a bench.

"Well, _why_ am I being held?" Chris demanded. "I didn't break any laws."

"You funded a criminal organization."

"I funded a research initiative," Chris argued back. "You can't prove I knew there was any criminal intent behind such research in a court of law."

"Nevertheless, fourteen children are dead as a result of the money you poured into Team Rocket. One of them was your own son," Lance said. It was his ace, the only way he could get the father to open up. "You sold the life of your son for potential profits. We know this; there is no sense in hiding it. Talk to us."

Chris, upon hearing the mention of his son, visibly crumbled. His shoulders sagged as his face fell into his hands, the chains of his handcuffs clattering against the table.

"I didn't know," he mumbled. "I didn't know... I didn't know my son was in danger. I thought I had..." Chris suddenly stopped and clenched his fists. "You know what? You're wrong. It wasn't even Team Rocket. It was _you_. It was your bus. It was your organization's incompetence that killed him. You're a terrible leader."

Alder exchanged an uneasy glance with Steven, who seemed to be sharing the same discomfort, though he was doing a far more excellent job at concealing it.

"You're a terrible parent," Lance spat back venomously, refusing to lose his higher ground.

_**February 3rd, 2002. Afternoon. Olivine City.**_

"Agh, what does he like?" Dawn muttered to herself, frustrated. She had been grappling with the question for a while now, yet she still had no tangible answer for it. She had foolishly believed this would be a quick trip to the store—it really couldn't be much else; she wasn't supposed to be there—but as soon as she stepped through the automatic doors and saw all the merchandise, she realized she actually had no idea what Paul could ever want.

She was dressed in Ash's large hoodie, of course, and she was also wearing a pair of sunglasses. It honestly was a ridiculous look, but she was quite sure no one would recognize her. At least, no one who didn't know her well.

Dawn picked up a candy bar; it seemed like a safe bet, but then again, Paul didn't show a particular affinity for sweets (he didn't show an affinity for _anything_). Besides, who was to say he even liked this brand?

She set the bar down again, thinking perhaps she should give up. He didn't seem interested in celebrating anyway, and he'd probably grow upset with her the moment he found out she went into town. It really was stupid of her, she knew. Leaf would have her head.

Dawn turned to leave, but found herself facing a pair of familiar, amarenth-colored eyes. At first, Dawn thought she was going crazy. What would she being doing all the way out in Johto? The same thought seemed to cross the other's mind, as well; though she stood a few feet away, Dawn could see the mixed shock and skepticism painted on her face.

Instant panic.

Dawn immediately broke eye contact and brushed past the girl. Still she could feel the girl's eyes following her, and soon, she heard footsteps as well. Once outside, Dawn broke into a light jog, but she felt her hood roughly pulled back. Dawn whipped around, causing the sunglasses to fall, too. She was exposed.

Ursula was about to scream, until Dawn grabbed her, trying to hush her.

"I swear, I have an explanation!" Dawn's voice shook. "And I'll tell you everything. But please, don't draw attention here!"

* * *

"You mean to say... it was all a set-up?" Ursula asked in disbelief.

"Every last bit of it," Gary replied casually with a shrug.

Shock had rolled through the group in waves when Dawn showed up with Ash's sweatshirt folded and held tightly, nervously, to her lower abdomen, and a rather tight-lipped and rigid Ursula in tow. Dawn was trying to remain calm at a surface level, but on the inside, she was a wreck. She feared she might have ruined it for all of them. Of all people to run into, Ursula might have been the worst. They were not friends; Ursula had little respect for Dawn, or anyone for that matter. Moreover, Dawn was fully aware that Ursula could get a cheap fifteen minutes of fame if she exposed them, and if she disliked Dawn anyway, what would motivate her to keep their secret?

At least, Dawn was thankful she had managed to coax Ursula to meet the others. People like Gary were a lot better with words than she, and maybe he could convince the pink-haired coordinator to stay silent. If that failed, well... Dawn heard that Leaf had managed to wipe the memories of Butch and Cassidy using her Hypno, and while Dawn wasn't sure she was comfortable with such methods, she was willing to go along with anything—as long as it would stop the agent's angry gaze from burrowing into the back of her head.

"I still don't get it." Ursula frowned. "Why would—what are they called again?—the G-Men set up some crazy conspiracy to fake your deaths? I thought that kind of thing only happened in fiction."

"Unfortunately not," Gary said with a chuckle.

"Lance wanted a way to pull Giovanni's focus away from Ash and the others and draw out his actual plan, which, judging by the events at Shamouti island last month, is exactly what happened. Of course, we only stay safe as long as no one finds us or figures out we're alive," Leaf spoke up. There was a subdued anger in her tone, and Dawn flinched.

"That's why we've been avoiding going into town, _Dawn_," Leaf finished, finally calling her out.

"I'm sorry, I-" Dawn began, knowing this point would eventually come.

"-It's my fault."

The interruption caught most of the group off-guard, though perhaps it shouldn't have. Although he had unashamedly gone to bat for several people over the course of the past couple of months, still no one thought Paul Rebolledo would ever step up to defend Dawn again.

"_Your_ fault?" Leaf scoffed. "Explain."

"I put her up to it," Paul said plainly.

"Arceus, he's doing it again," Zoey mumbled under her breath, and Kenny cast her a intrigued glance.

"Why?" Leaf seemed as unconvinced as she was angry.

"Today's my birthday," Paul answered, and before he could elaborate, Dawn cut back in.

"Stop. The blame is completely-"

"-It doesn't matter, anyway," Paul pressed forward, talking over her. "It happened. It's done. We've learned our lesson, and now it's time to move on."

Leaf didn't say anything for a long moment, as her eyes flicked between Paul and Dawn suspiciously. Ursula, meanwhile, had just about had enough as she broke out of her shell-shocked stupor and slid back into her usual form.

"Uh, excuse me?" she began. "I'm still here, and I still have questions."

"Go on," Paul encouraged gruffly, seizing the opportunity to redirect the course of the conversation. Leaf frowned, watching him.

"If you all are looking to stay hidden, then what are you doing hanging out right outside of Olivine City? Why not go somewhere where no one's going to find you?" Ursula asked.

"Yes, why not?" Leaf muttered bitterly.

"_Hello_, I'm still talking," Ursula sassed. Leaf glared at her, and Drew mumbled a sardonic "Me-owth" under his breath. Ursula continued, "It just seems counter-intuitive. If your goal is to not be found by anyone, you're doing a terrible job."

"Well, to tell the truth, we're actually not planning on staying here long," Dawn said tepidly. "We're trying to go to Sinnoh."

"To Sinnoh?"

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Ritchie observed.

"Because you'd have to crazy to go to Sinnoh right now," Ursula told him point-blank. "People are leaving Sinnoh, not vacationing there." She glanced at Dawn. "You wanna know why I'm here in Johto? It's because Sinnoh is on the path to becoming uninhabitable with the dropping temperatures. It's a cold region as is, and I left before it could get really bad."

"We're not going there for 'vacation,'" Gary injected himself into the conversation again. "We're actually looking for the Sinnoh Team Rocket base, where we think the missing Moltres is."

"There's a Rocket base in Sinnoh?" Ursula asked, appalled.

"Yeah, we were just as surprised as you," Barry said with a nod.

"You must understand, though, that if information gets out that we're here and we're alive, then the whole thing falls apart," Leaf continued.

"You think I'm going to say something." Ursula didn't present it as a question or accusation. Rather, she stated it, as though it were fact.

"We have to be cautious," Leaf responded.

"Look, if you want to commit yourself to a suicide mission, that's not my business. I'm not going to run to the press, or anything." Ursula smiled coyly. "Of course, you have no way of knowing that."

"Do _not_ play that game with me, missy," Leaf growled. Ursula appeared far from intimidated though. Rather, she remained silent for a long time, her eyes narrowing slightly as the gave the agent a once-over.

"You say you're looking for Moltres?"

"Yes," Leaf affirmed.

"I get it; you're here in Olivine to try to catch a boat to Sinnoh."

"That's right." Leaf seemed more wary now.

"Well," Ursula dragged out the word slowly, "I still think you're crazy for wanting to do it... but I might be able to help you out. My father owns the boat line between Olivine City and Chocovine Town in Sinnoh."

Dawn breathed out, perplexed as to why Ursula would seemingly be willing to help them, but amazed by their stroke of good luck. If Ursula could really get them to Sinnoh, then perhaps sneaking into town was the best decision she ever made. Meanwhile, Leaf's eyebrows perked up in interest, though she, too, was impressed with fate that day: What were the chances?

The agent exchanged a quick glance with Gary, and then looked back at Silver, who was standing off to the side, listening closely as the events unfolded. The wheels began turning in her mind again, and she began wondering if she could pull off something more productive than a false trail.

"A moment alone, please." Leaf directed this statement toward all the members of the traveling pack, though her eyes remained glued to Ursula. It took a moment for everyone to begin moving away, and Leaf situated herself on top of a dead, fallen tree trunk across from the coordinator. Ursula pursed her lips and crossed her legs.

"What makes you think I want to talk to you?" Ursula scoffed.

"You offered to help."

"I didn't offer to help. I said I might be able to," Ursula clarified. "So, convince me."

Leaf gave her a disbelieving look. She opened her mouth once and then closed it again.

"Do it because we're trying to save Moltres and restore balance to the world," she finally said, as though it were obvious.

"Mmm, yeah..." Ursula hummed. "I don't think that's going to happen."

"Then do it because Dawn is your friend," the agent suggested, frustrated.

"Dawn is not my friend. Dawn is a second-rate coordinator with whom I am unfortunately acquainted. Up until recently, I thought she was dead. Finding out she wasn't interested me enough to come here and meet you, which brings me to another question: Who are you?"

"My name is Leaf Greene," Leaf said, decidedly going along with it, "and I am an... ex G-Men agent."

"Ex?" Ursula's interest seemed piqued now. "You were kicked out?"

"Actually, I had to renounce my loyalties." Leaf flicked her head toward Silver. "You see that kid with long, red hair over there? He's Ash Ketchum's half-brother and the son of Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket. He's also our ticket to taking Giovanni down. The problem is, he does not trust the G-Men or any sort of large organization. I did what I had to do to get him to help us. Although, to be fair, by being out here, I am openly defying the orders of Lance and will likely be expelled from the G-Men as a result."

"All right?" Ursula turned her head slightly, unsure of where the agent was going with this.

"You see, I don't really want to leave the G-Men," Leaf went on. "You, looking like someone who's grown up with a real family while sucking a silver spoon, probably won't understand this, but I have nothing else. I am trying to do the right thing. I want to rescue Moltres, but I don't want to lose the weak semblance of a family and purpose in my life, either. I figure if I stop Giovanni, then there's a chance I can preserve that for myself. Maybe you don't think we can do it—and maybe you're right—but you've got to give me that chance."

Ursula's lips tightened, and she examined Leaf closely for a long moment. A low growl rumbled in the back of Leaf's throat, and she was prepared to simply send Ursula on her way, convinced that the coordinator would never help them—but then she spoke.

"My father's boat is scheduled to leave for Chocovine tonight at 6:30 p.m." Ursula began calmly. "I can guarantee there will be no one on there."

Leaf's eyes widened for a brief moment, but she quickly collected herself.

"Guarantee?"

"It's like I said. People are leaving Sinnoh. No one's going there," Ursula explained.

"How can you ensure no one will see us? There are people by the pier, and a large group would draw suspicion."

"There won't be if there's a storm." Ursula rose to her feet and retrieved one of her Pokéballs. "Come out, Vaporeon."

The Water-type emerged with a warbled cry, and her trainer bent down to scratch her behind the ear.

"This Vaporeon knows Blizzard," Ursula continued. "Trust me, no one will be out at the pier while there's a blizzard. Vaporeon will clear it as soon as you're on board."

"What about the crew?"

"You're going to have to take care of that yourself," Ursula shrugged. "I'm guessing you could stay below deck, in the hold—the cargo area. That's where they keep all the food and supplies for the ship, but since there won't be any passengers, I can't imagine the crew will have to go down there often, if at all. I'm not going to go with you, so you'll have to get yourselves off, too."

Leaf said nothing for a long moment, considering the proposition. It was beyond risky; in fact, it was nearly downright reckless. But she had already set off the alarm. It was either taking risking this, or resigning to being found by the G-Men agents who would undoubtedly be on their way soon.

"All right," Leaf finally agreed. "But... how willing would you be to take a step further to help me?"

"You tugged on a heart string; you didn't make it bleed," Ursula replied flippantly.

Leaf decided to press forward anyway. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the fifteen tickets, skimming her finger across the top.

"Are you a good actress?" she asked.

* * *

"You shouldn't have done that." Paul almost immediately pulled Dawn aside after Leaf had sent them away, and it didn't go unnoticed. Many others turned a curious eye toward the two, though they couldn't be so bold as to get close enough to eavesdrop. Paul had turned his back toward them—a clear 'keep out' signal. "You're lucky that this may turn in our favor."

"I know. I'm sorry," Dawn sighed, pressing her palm to her forehead. "But you shouldn't have tried to take the blame. That was completely me, and it just made Leaf more agitated when you did that. She knew you were lying. We all did." She dropped her hand, thinking as she her eyes slowly rose up to meet his. "But you knew that already, didn't you? So, why, then?"

Paul took a step back.

"I said you shouldn't have done it," he stated simply. "I didn't say I don't appreciate the sentiment."

He left it there, short and sweet, and turned to head his own way. Dawn stood motionless for a long moment before sighing and returning to her fellow Sinnoh friends, all of whom had been looking on.

"What was that about?" Barry asked when she rejoined them.

"Nothing," Dawn replied plainly.

"What did he say?" Kenny pressed.

"Nothing you wouldn't expect," she lied. "That I shouldn't have done it, but thank goodness Ursula is possibly going to help us. And on that note, please don't chastise me, as it's already happened twice now."

"I don't think any of us are looking to chastise you, Dawn," Zoey said. "I think we all are just a bit... confused? You and Paul have been giving each other the cold shoulder for the past several weeks, then out of nowhere, this whole thing happens."

"Yeah, I..." Dawn sighed again. "I don't... I don't know. I don't have an answer for you. I don't have an answer for myself. I suppose I'm trying to figure it out."

Zoey tilted her head, intrigued.

"Are you still thinking about... ?" She left the question unfinished, remembering that neither Kenny nor Barry knew about Dawn's moment with Paul last month.

"That's part of it," Dawn admitted, understanding what her friend meant. "I guess it's just been easier to be angry with each other than... you know, talk about it."

Barry and Kenny exchanged quick glances, utterly baffled and feeling out of the loop.

"Are you going to talk to him about it then?" Zoey asked.

"I wouldn't know what to say." Dawn let out an empty chuckle. "It's not a good time, anyway. We should be focused on other things; things that are way more important. We can deal with... that after we get back."

"Not a bad idea." Zoey nodded.

"Yeah..." She cast her eyes at the ground and realized she was still clinging Ash's sweatshirt. "Anyway, I should give this back to Ash and apologize. I'll talk to you guys later."

She went off with a small wave, and as soon as she was out of earshot, Kenny turned to Zoey.

"What were you two talking about?" he asked.

"Ah... it's..." Zoey fumbled for a good answer. "It's really not any of our business. It's a private matter for Dawn."

She hurried away before either he or Barry could inquire further, and Kenny's expression fell before he plopped down on the grass.

"You remember when Dawn and Paul had that fight the morning after he'd been poisoned?" the male coordinator began, dejected.

"Yeah?" Barry raised an eyebrow.

"I think you were right—something _did_ happen between them."

Barry frowned, and suddenly, he seemed a bit depressed himself.

_**February 3rd, 2002. Late Afternoon. Olivine City.**_

The room shook when Lance slammed the door behind him, drawing in the attention of everyone.

"The man doesn't know _a thing_," he declared angrily. "He doesn't know where the Hoenn base is; he confirmed it exists, but he's never been to it, and he doesn't know where it is. Didn't even know his own son was in danger."

"Are we even sure he ever was?" Wallace asked. "Mewtwo attacked the Maples, yes, but Drew was present by chance."

"Either way," Lance sighed, sitting down. "We're back to square one." He rubbed his temples for a moment before noticing that Solidad and the others were present.

"When did you four get here?" he asked.

"Not terribly long ago," Solidad answered, mellow.

"_Why_ are you here?"

"I..."

"I believe she's looking to speak to Chris," Brock answered when she didn't.

"Ah, right. Well, he's all yours." Lance gestured to the door. Solidad nodded and made a motion to stand, but she quickly fell back into her seat.

"I can't," she said.

Reggie looked at her strangely.

"What?"

"I can't," she repeated. "I know, I must be wasting everyone's time here because of this. I'm sorry."

"Why?" Maylene asked. She didn't seem angry in the least bit; simply curious.

Solidad was silent for a moment, thinking over her answer. Then:

"I know I did the right thing by raising questions about Chris after we met the second time. It led us to Brandon and to learning about Project Legendary. But it also led to his arrest, and possibly the ruin of his life. I know he probably deserves that, but I still feel like I betrayed a trust between us. For that reason, I can't face him," she explained calmly.

A breath of silence followed; Lance looked at her strangely, trying to comprehend her reasoning. However, his thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Agent Adalet.

"Sir," he began, addressing Lance. "There's been some activity on the Agent Greene's G-Men credit card."

This quickly drew in the full attention of everyone in the room.

"Excuse me?" Cynthia appalled.

"They're in Olivine City," Adalet continued. "She bought fifteen tickets to Hoenn."

Everyone stared for a long moment. Some exchanged uneasy glances, as they realized the implications of such a purchase.

"She knows where it is," Steven was the first to voice what everyone was thinking. Lance's fists loosened up, and he furrowed his eyebrows.

"Yeah," he agreed, before straightening up to address Adalet more directly. "You know what we agreed on."

Adalet nodded, and then he was gone.

_**February 3rd, 2002. Early Evening. Olivine City.**_

Iris was the first to stumble down the hatch into the ship's hold, escaping from the snowy outdoor winds. She was shivering violently and practically on the verge of hyperventilation; she might have begun crying had she not known her tears would likely freeze to her chilled skin and that she'd likely perceived as a child for reacting so adversely to the poor weather. To most, it was a painfully cold inconvenience; to her, it was her worst nightmare.

Axew crawled out of her hair, and she grabbed him and clutched him tightly. This whole experience—from the hike up the snowy Mt. Silver to the trek across Johto amidst dropping temperatures—had been nothing short of awful for her. She had managed to hold herself together for this long, but this storm was the last straw. She hated the cold. No, that was too much of an understatement. She feared it. She knew it seemed ridiculous, and that's why she reduced her fear to hate in spoken word.

"Iris!" Cilan sounded alarmed to see her in such a state as he and the others, too, began coming down the hatch. He hurried to her side and quickly removed his own jacket to wrap around her shoulders.

"What's her deal?" Ursula asked derisively as soon as she entered the hold.

"She's not used to these temperatures," Cilan explained in brief.

"Join the club."

"She's particularly sensitive," Cilan elaborated.

"Is everyone here?" Leaf asked, being the last to enter the cargo area. Gary paused to do a headcount.

"Sixteen," he declared. "Plus Pinkie over there. That's everyone."

Ursula looked offended at the nickname 'Pinkie,' but she didn't say anything about it.

"Good." Leaf appeared relieved. She shook a bit of the snow out of her hair and turned to Ursula. "You can tell your Vaporeon to stop the storm now."

"Yeah, yeah," Ursula said with a wave of her hand. "Right. Good luck."

The pink-haired coordinator turned to leave, and Dawn perked up.

"Wait, Ursula!" she cried. She quickly hurried after her rival, who stopped and faced the blunette upon hearing her name called. "I just... I just wanted to thank you. This is really a big deal for us. More than you can imagine."

"Ha! You won't want to thank me after you all get yourself killed, for real this time," Ursula scoffed. Dawn smiled crookedly.

"Well, we'll try to avoid that," she said with an awkward laugh. Ursula's lips tightened, and she flicked her gaze down at her feet before returning it to Dawn.

"Seriously. Good luck," Ursula said solemnly. "Even if I seriously doubt you will, I hope you succeed."

Dawn straightened up slightly, surprised by such an admission. Ursula unfolded her arms and swung them behind her back, her hands catching each other.

"I have to go," she continued after a long pause. "I have other things to attend to."

Dawn watched as her rival headed up the couple of stairs, and just as she was about to disappear, she called out, "See you soon?"

"I wouldn't count on it!" Ursula's words echoed throughout the hold as the hatch closed, rendering the room pitch black.

* * *

"I need access to this boat." Adalet wasted no time approaching the boat serviceman—a middle-aged adult male with light brown hair a gold-colored name plate reading 'Parker.' The agent had not adequately prepared himself before leaving the Indigo Plateau, and the fresh film of snow on the ground was melting into his shoes, though he paid little mind to that. He was far more focused on other matters.

"Ticket?" Parker asked.

"I don't have one."

"Then I'm afraid I can't allow you on board."

"I see." Adalet pulled out his G-Men badge. "But I still need access."

Parker's expression deadpanned.

"Right this way." He opened the gate, and Adalet hurried on deck. Several passengers cast him concerned glances as he walked briskly past them, almost running into a few. In his hand, he had the numbers to the rooms that had been reserved for the fifteen people who had tickets purchased under the G-Men's name. It made his blood boil to think that they could be so reckless, especially with all these other people on the ship. He would need to come up with an exit plan to safely get them off without them being seen. The task seemed impossible, but years of training had prepared him for this moment.

The first room was locked. Adalet had no qualms in knocking it down.

There was a scream, and Adalet winced, but for a moment, he truly believed he had been successful. The scream rang of adolescence; he was sure he had found them. But then he looked up, and he saw only one girl with long, curly pink hair and reddish eyes. She was standing up in apparent alarm.

"Who are you?" she demanded, shaking. He strained his memory as to whether this was one of the children from whom he had departed at the scene of the crash in the Viridian Forest on Christmas Eve. To his disappointment, he concluded she was not.

"My name is Erol Adalet. I'm an agent with the G-Men," he answered.

"The G-Men!" she yelped in surprise. "Ooh, I knew I shouldn't have gotten involved in this shady business. That girl!"

"That girl?" Adalet inquired, immediately interested. "What did she look like?"

"She was around my age; very ashy brown hair, blue eyes," the pink-haired youth described. "I was just minding my own business, standing in line to get my ticket to Hoenn, when suddenly she approached me and offered me fifteen for free! All I had to do was take this note she'd written—" She lifted a folded piece of paper in her hand. "—and give it to her 'friend' when he came. I didn't know _the G-Men_ were involved, though!"

She appeared as though she were about to cry, and Adalet frowned.

"It's all right, miss," he assured her. "You're not in trouble. What's your name?"

"Ursula Schoenberg," she sniffled.

"May I see the note?"

She gladly turned it over, and Adalet quickly unfolded it. He breathed in sharply as he read it:

_Lance,_

_It's in Shroomish Forest._

For a moment, out of the corner of his eye, he swore he saw Ursula smirk, but when he looked at her again, she rebuilt her terrified façade.

* * *

"Come on, help me push this," Leaf urged to no one in particular, her hands grasping the edge of a large wooden box.

They had been working for the past hour—or perhaps two hours; they had lost track of time—trying to set up a makeshift barricade of sorts, something they could hide in should someone come down the hatch to retrieve something. The darkness of the hold was lit only by the illumination the group's Pokémon could provide.

Silver answered her call, and together, they began to slide the crate across the floor to join the several others they had thus far arranged.

"Why haven't we left yet?" Silver grunted as he pushed.

"I don't know," Leaf admitted. "I knew there would probably be a delay with the storm, but I wasn't sure how long."

"How long before your G-Men come looking for your false trail?" Silver asked.

"They could be here now for all I know," Leaf said, and Silver gave her an apprehensive look. "I know. I'm not happy about it either. We're just going to have to wait it out."

They shared the same fear: that as soon as the G-Men realized Leaf had set a dud, they would come looking for the group elsewhere—which might include searching other ships. Leaf was banking on the hope that they wouldn't want to make too much of a scene and draw attention to the fact that they were looking for something, lest Giovanni sniff out trouble.

"You really didn't think this through, did you?" Paul commented snidely from somewhere in the room. He wasn't visible to her.

"No. Got any better ideas, birthday boy?" she sneered.

Suddenly, the boat shifted, and many lost or nearly lost their balance from the quick motion. They were off.

_**February 3rd, 2002. Evening. Indigo Plateau.**_

"Shroomish Forest?" Wallace inquired, appalled. "In Hoenn?"

"That's what the note said," Lance confirmed.

"A note, but no children..." Cynthia sighed. "What a headache."

"I'm guessing she meant to tip you off as to where the Hoenn Base is?" Reggie asked.

"That's exactly what she was doing." Lance nodded. "But, she's still keeping herself and the others in the dark. Arceus..."

Lance had received the call—on a disposable cell phone that had been prepared for the moment, of course—from Adalet not long ago informing the group at the Indigo Plateau that they'd fallen straight into Leaf's trap. A false trail; it was a meaningless purchase that was meant to throw them off. Lance was upset when he'd first received this news, angry that Leaf would, for the sake of confusing the G-Men, risk making a digital footprint that Giovanni could have potentially uncovered, had Lance already not foreseen something like this happening and ordered Adalet to remove her information from the G-Men's digital library. Then he heard about the note, and he was well again.

"Is Adalet coming back?" Solidad asked.

"He's going to continue combing through the Olivine City area to see if he can find Leaf and the others. If they're still there, he'll find them," Lance answered. "However, I maintain my stance that if we find Giovanni, the children will find themselves for us. In the meantime-"

Lance was cut off when the phone began ringing; not the disposable one, though. It had already been destroyed. No, this was the office phone, and there flashed a glimmer of hope in nearly everyone's eyes that perhaps Adalet had miraculously found the wayward pack of teens and was now calling the regular phone line. Lance was not so pleased, but he picked up anyway.

"Adalet?" he demanded.

"_Hello, Lance_."

Lance felt a stone drop in the pit of his stomach. He leaned over the table, gripping the edge with his free hand.

"How did you get this number?" he asked darkly. Steven furrowed his eyebrows and muttered the Indigo Champion's name quietly to get his attention. Lance turned to the Steel-type trainer with a deadpanned expression and, understanding what it meant, Steven sprung into action. He pulled out his cell phone and quickly dialed a number.

"Hello, I need to speak to the technical analyst for the G-Men immediately," Steven began.

"_That's of no importance_," Giovanni laughed. _"I read today that you caught one of my men_."

"Are you planning on rescuing him, too?" Lance asked bitterly. "Like you did with those two agents in Johto?"

"Hi, this is Steven Stone. I need you to get a lock on the location of the caller for the phone in room 205," Steven continued anxiously.

"_No. That would be a waste_," Giovanni replied. "_Chris doesn't know anything of value, as I'm sure you've discovered._"

"Keep him on the phone for as long as you can," Steven told Lance in a hushed tone, placing his hand over the receiver on his cell phone. "There's an agent trying to get a location."

Lance nodded in acknowledgement before returning his focus to Giovanni.

"He confirmed what we already theorized," he said.

"_Putting a positive spin on it, are we?_" Giovanni chortled again. "_Well, there's nothing positive about this: The average temperature in Sinnoh hit 15 degrees today._"

"Your point?"

"_It won't be long until the people begin demanding change. They'll realize what a worthless, incompetent bunch of leaders you are. They're cold; their children are dead, and there's no end in sight for them. They'll give anything for a ray of sunshine in their pathetic lives again. They'll do anything to have Moltres returned, even demand your resignation so that power may be turned over to me._"

"You're delusional."

"_Of course, you could always turn over the reigns to me now, before it gets really bad._"

"Go to hell."

"_I thought so. The offer still stands._"

Lance pulled the phone away from his ear as the line went dead, and Steven immediately picked up his cell again.

"Did you get that?" he asked. "I see... thank you, anyway." The former Hoenn Champion ended his own call. "They weren't able to lock down a location."

Cynthia let out a disappointed sigh, and she dropped her face into her hands. The others shared similar reactions, with the exception of Lance. He straightened up, appearing resolved.

"It's OK," he assured them. "We have what we need."

"The Hoenn base?" Brock inquired.

"Precisely." Lance nodded. "We now have somewhere to look. I'll send some agents explore the area aerially using infrared technology and establish a specific location. In the meantime, we'll prepare a team of elite trainers to assist us in halting operations at said Hoenn base, once it's found."

"And where will we get these elite trainers?" Wallace asked.

"Well, we could start with what we have in this room," Cynthia suggested. "Brock, Maylene, Reggie, and Solidad—" The four seemed surprised to hear their names mentioned in such high honor, and Cynthia smiled at them. "—that is, if they are interested."

"I..." Solidad paused to shake off her initial hesitation. "I think we would be more than interested, Cynthia."

"We can call my father, too," Reggie added. "He could definitely get some of the other Frontier Brains involved. And the Battle Pyramid... it could transport a large group of people, even across an ocean."

"Moreover, we have an entire nation of gym leaders who have been sitting on their hands since December," Lance said frankly. "We'll pick."

.

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	21. XIX: In Which Wallace Gets His Word

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Chapter XIX: In Which Wallace Gets His Word

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_**February 6th, 2002. Before Sunrise. Battle Pyramid.**_

Solidad pulled her coat around her tighter as an ice-kissed breeze ruffled her hair. She had grown up in the Pewter City area, yet it had never been this cold. Kanto was a temperate region; snow hardly touched anything beyond the mountains, and when it did come, it rarely stuck. She could only recall a couple of instances in her childhood in which there was enough snow to build a foot-tall snowman outside her home.

This was the most anxious she'd ever felt in her life. Participating in contests and the like had always managed to get her adrenaline pumping, but this was different. It was a powerful rush of fear and determination. Last month, she and many others had been forced to sit on the sidelines and watch Team Rocket kidnap Moltres and send their world barreling toward icy ruin. Today, they would finally strike back. Today, maybe they would set things straight.

It was a personal matter for her, too, considering that Drew and May were still on her mind and that she had adopted Lance's theory as to how they would bring them home: Stop Giovanni, and they would find themselves.

However, many others didn't require a personal connection to the case to be willing to fight. The call from Giovanni had been the last straw for Lance, and with the knowledge of the Hoenn base's location in his possession, he extended the invitation beyond the confines of his own G-Men to join the battle—to gym leaders, to Elite Four members, to Frontier Brains. The response had been overwhelming; people not only wanted to help, they were ready and willing to do so.

Solidad had not realized how much she had wanted this until the first wave of trainers began arriving at the Indigo Plateau yesterday and, today, the Battle Pyramid. In certain respects, she felt out of place. She was a coordinator; her talents were not focused in battle, but rather appeal. Still, though she had never taken the Pokemon League Challenge, much less paid great attention to league activities, she recognized more faces than she would have expected of herself—Erika Applebaum of Celadon City, Whitney Hollingshead of Goldenrod City, Roxanne Neil of Rustboro City, among others.

For a couple hours now, Solidad had stood out in the cold, watching as the Pokémon world's elite continued to arrive by car, by Pokémon, a few even by foot. She didn't speak to anyone. She merely watched them pass by and head into the Battle Pyramid, where they would be required to fill out a form with their name, where they were from, and what Pokémon they had with them.

Lance had also made it clear to her and others that they were still maintaining the story that the fourteen children were dead and instructed them to act accordingly. Cynthia, understanding the deeper parts of the issue, added that the temptation to spill the truth as a form of comfort wouldn't be a problem, since Cilan's brothers and Candice had declined the invitation to come. Still, Solidad was tired of acting.

"Solidad!" The coordinator snapped out of her trance and looked to her left, from where the voice had come.

"Norman," Solidad regarded pleasantly as the Petalburg Gym Leader approached.

"I didn't expect you'd be here," he said.

"I've been keeping close correspondence with Lance and the others," Solidad explained in brief. "I wouldn't have been invited otherwise."

"I see," Norman mused before lowering his voice and asking, "In that case, do you know of any updates on May and the other kids?"

Solidad suddenly felt her mouth run dry, believing that he was not aware of the fact that the children were, for lack of a better word, missing. She didn't want to be the one to tell him the children had never made it to Blackthorn City, but she wasn't particularly interested in lying to cover up for Lance either.

Norman must have sensed her discomfort, because he added, "I know about the children not being with Clair."

"You do?" Solidad was nearly relieved. Norman nodded.

"Cynthia told me and the others a while ago," he explained. "I don't think Lance is aware she did this."

"Probably for the best."

"You certainly get the sense that they don't like each other, don't you?" He smiled crookedly.

"I think that's an understatement," Solidad said, shaking her head. "How upset were you?"

"You know, you would expect that I would have been furious, outraged even," Norman admitted, "and I was upset—there's no hiding that—but in the back of my mind... I think I knew it was going to happen. I know my daughter, and I know her friends. They were not going to calmly go to Dragon's Den and wait in the dark for several months. Caroline and I are trying not to worry too much about it. May has Drew and Ash, and I know either of them would jump in harm's way for her."

"Must be scary knowing there are boys out there who care about your daughter almost as much as you do," Solidad said, half-teasing. Norman let out a chuckle at that.

"The first time I held her—the first time she looked at me with those pretty blue eyes—I knew I was going to see a few young men on my porch," he said. "I'm just glad she picked a couple of good guys to hang around."

Solidad lowered her eyelids.

"Right..." she agreed.

"Anyway," Norman continued, "I'm heading inside. I promised to meet Palmer, and this cold is something else. Are you coming?"

"I'll be in soon," Solidad replied. "I'm going to hang outside here for a little while longer."

He initially seemed a little confused, but he waved her off anyway with a smile, and she returned to her watch. She was beginning to become discouraged, thinking he wouldn't come. Then, in the flurry of the light snowfall, she saw another car pull up. The headlights turned off, and she held her breath as she watched a tall male exit the vehicle.

She remained rooted to her spot until she could be sure it was him, but as soon as she saw the long, dark purple hair, she had to bite down on her bottom lip to contain the smile. He recognized her, too, and he began walking briskly toward her. She met him halfway, and she grasped his upper arms as a sort of loose embrace.

"I was starting to get worried you wouldn't come," she chuckled.

"You know I wouldn't miss the opportunity for condoned violence," Harley replied.

"Oh, you _do_ care." Solidad wasn't hiding her smile anymore.

"I care about you, not May and Drew," he clarified.

"You care about the things I care about," Solidad said. "Therefore, by extension, you also care about May and Drew."

"Whatever. You just keep telling yourself that, Sol." Harley rolled his eyes. "You ready for this?"

"Nervous."

"Don't be. Today's going to be a great day." He grinned. "Revenge is sweet."

"You know, I worry about you sometimes."

"Hun, why do you think everyone else is here?" He paused before adding, "Why are _you_ here?"

_**February 6th, 2002. Early Morning. At Sea.**_

Leaf emerged from the hold cautiously, casting her gaze about the deck in search of any crew members. She doubted anyone would be around at this time, and thus far, she had been right. This was not the first time she or any of the other trainers had left their dark prison below, though they only went above for hygienic purposes, and the trips were no more than a couple of minutes.

Realizing no one was around, Leaf stumbled to the rail and cast her head over the side, ill. Seeing the swirl of the waves below only served to worsen her sickness, however, and she had to close her eyes.

She spent the next few minutes unsuccessfully trying to collect herself. Her mental presence was so feeble that she didn't notice someone approach her from behind. She gasped and snapped her head up when she felt a hand on her back, but her surge of fear was alleviated once she realized it was Gary and not a sailor who had come.

"Geez, you scared me," she breathed.

"Sorry."

"You shouldn't be up here."

"Neither should you," he retorted, though his chastisement—if it could even be called that—was mild. It was unlike him. "Are you all right?"

"I have a tendency to get seasick," Leaf replied shortly.

"I can see that."

They didn't say anything more for a while. He pressed his fingers very gently against her upper back and ran them down her spine. The tenderness of the gesture might have made Leaf uncomfortable had it not been so simultaneously soothing, so she laid her head against her arms on the railing and let him continue without protest. As time passed—she wasn't sure how long—his fingers moved away from the set track and began running their own course.

"My mom used to do this to me when I was a kid," he commented absentmindedly. "She would trace words and things in my back, so I'd become distracted trying to figure out what she was saying and forget I was sick."

Leaf turned her head slightly, peeking at him with a single eye. She didn't expect he would bring up his mother; family was a sensitive topic for both of them.

"What did she write?" she asked.

"Oh, you know," he said with a wave of his free hand. "Things like my name and 'I love you.' Mom stuff."

"What are you writing now?"

The edge of his lips curved into a smirk.

"You'll have to figure that out yourself."

Leaf rolled her eyes and lifted her head to look out directly before her. Her eyes widened as she did.

"That's Sinnoh," she realized. "That's Sinnoh in the distance. There, you can see the mountains looming over the horizon."

Gary looked up, too.

"Yeah." He said it as though it were no big deal.

"I didn't realize we were so close," Leaf continued.

"You seem worried."

"That's because I _am_ worried," Leaf persisted. "Gary, I don't have the slightest clue as to how we're going to get off this boat without being seen. It's been a miracle that we've managed to muddle through the past couple of days without anyone on board stumbling across us. Plus, if Ursula wasn't exaggerating, then we can expect scores of people clamoring to get on board as soon as the ship pulls into port."

"Don't sweat it," Gary assured her. "It'll work out. It always does."

"This isn't funny, Gary. What if someone recognizes us?"

"I'm not laughing. This whole adventure has been nothing but a big 'what if?' What if Silver's lying? What if buying the Hoenn tickets tips Giovanni off? What if Ursula tells someone? We can't be sure about anything, and that's just true about life in general," Gary explained. "I'm just not concerned because, hey, it's been more than a month, and we're still alive. You might think I'm crazy, but I honestly get the sense this is what we are supposed to do, so just let the pieces fall where they may."

"I didn't have you pinned as a big destiny-fulfilling type of guy." It wasn't as much of a tease as it was an observation. Gary shrugged.

"I've had to re-evaluate my position considering recent events."

"Because of Ash?"

"I'm just saying, there's been at least a dozen times we should've been done for, but it ended up working out in our favor."

"... Are you suggesting Ash is some kind of good luck charm?"

"If you want to put it that way, sure. Why does that surprise you?"

"You know, you've assumed from the beginning that I've believed Ash is the Chosen One," Leaf answered coolly. "But, the fact is I haven't always been so sure. When I talked to Melody back when this whole thing began, and when I first learned about Ash and the Shamouti prophecy... I just wanted to pass off his saving the Shamouti isles as a fluke, because, I mean, Ash Ketchum the Chosen One?"

"So, what do you think now?" Gary asked.

Leaf was silent for a long moment.

"I'm leaning toward yes," she admitted, "but I'm a skeptic, too, and if he's our good luck charm... well, his luck has got to run out eventually."

Suddenly, the sound of approaching voices caught the attention of both trainers, and they hurriedly turned away from the railing.

"Someone's coming," Leaf panicked.

"Yeah," Gary said before grabbing her wrist and pulling her along. The quick motion sent Leaf's head spinning, and she was sure she was going to be sick. They hid themselves behind some sort of large, metallic circular tube, and Gary had to wrap an arm around Leaf's shoulders tightly to keep her from collapsing and drawing in attention. They watched with bated breath as two adult men passed by. The men were too caught up in their conversation to notice them, much less look their way.

After managing to get her head in order, Leaf looked up in time to see the men open the hatch and enter the hold. She couldn't help but let out a gasp, and she swore she was about to cry. She had cursed herself. After everything they'd been through, this could potentially be their end.

"Oh Arceus," she uttered despairingly, and Gary hushed her.

"Just hold on," he whispered. "We knew this could happen. That's why we set up the boxes to provide us a hiding place."

They waited out the next few minutes in an unbearable silence—and then, finally, the sailors reappeared from below the hold, laughing and talking as they had been minutes before. Gary and Leaf ducked again as they passed by, and as soon as they were gone, they stood and hurried back into the hold.

"Did those men see you?" Leaf asked frantically as soon as she opened the hatch.

It was quiet for a long moment. Then, an answer:

"No."

It came from Ash.

Leaf let out an immense sigh of relief and cast a sideways glance at Gary, who seemed at ease as well.

"Looks like we've still got some luck left," he told her with a smirk.

_**February 6th, 2002. Morning. Battle Pyramid.**_

"Here's the list, as you requested," Lance said, handing a folder to Surge. "It's complete with every available trainer in the pyramid and their Pokémon. I had one of my agents type it up to compensate for some of less impressive penmanship. It's subdivided by region and is organized alphabetically."

Surge nodded to show he was listening as he opened the folder and began leafing through the pages. Lance allowed him a moment to skim before pulling out a large, rolled script.

"This..." Lance continued, regaining the Vermillion Gym Leader's attention, "... is a blueprint of the Rocket base we're headed toward." He unfurled the paper and laid it flat across the table. Surge closed the folder to take a better look.

"Where will we be landing in relation to the base?" he asked.

"That's for Brandon's discretion."

"I need to know."

"I'll have someone ask him."

Surge pressed his lips into a hard line and opened up the folder once again.

"I wish you had given me more time, rather than forcing me to make hasty decisions and put together a last-minute plan of attack," he grumbled.

"You have six hours," Lance said.

"I would need that much time to even go through this and gain a thorough understanding of the resources I have," Surge said, holding up the folder.

"Well, I'm sorry, Adam, but I don't have more time to give you," Lance breathed out, frustrated. "We are in the air now. There is no turning back."

"Please, Lance, I prefer 'officer' in this context," Surge corrected. "The serious decisions I was and now am going to make..."

"Fine, _officer_," Lance said. "I'm sorry you don't have more time. I really am. Would you like me to send for someone to help you?"

"Who?"

"Oh, I don't know—Koga, Sabrina, Blaine," Lance suggested. "Look in that folder and pick your fancy."

"Are any of them veterans?"

"Not to my knowledge," Lance answered. "But they're all brilliant strategists in battle, and I'm sure they could be of some assistance to you."

"All right," Surge sighed. "Send one in."

Lance nodded and promptly left. Surge sat down and flicked to a random page in the folder Lance had given him:

**Bugsy Jayne**

_Azalea Town Gym Leader_

Scizzor  
Shuckle  
Heracross  
Pinsir  
Forretress  
Yanmega

**Chuck Green**

_Cianwood City Gym Leader_

Poliwrath  
Machamp  
Primeape  
Hitmontop  
Hitmonchan  
Hitmonlee

Suddenly, the door slid open again, and in came a young woman with sharp, green eyes and long, dark hair. Surge recognized her as Sabrina, the Saffron City Gym Leader, and he rose to greet her.

"Lance sent me," she stated plainly.

"Right," Surge said with a nod as he went to shake your hand. "It's Sabrina, isn't it? You specialize in Psychic-types."

"I, myself am Psychic," she added. Surge craned an eyebrow at her.

"That so?" He let out an awkward, doubtful chuckle. "Well, in that case, could'ya take a glance into the future and see how this whole thing is gonna go down?"

She stared, and Surge sucked in his breath and turned away.

"Well, if you wanna help, take this here and look through it while I examine this blueprint," he said, holding the folder over his shoulder.

She didn't move.

"I will tell you one thing," she began, and Surge looked at her strangely.

"That is?"

"Moltres will not be there," she said. "Take that into account."

* * *

Winona pressed her hand against the glass and found herself looking down at a large, crystal blue abyss. They had recently crossed over the Kanto shoreline and were now passing over the ocean, straight toward Hoenn. She hadn't known; she had been napping at the beginning of trip, attempting to restore the energy lost from waking at such an early hour.

"It is majestic, isn't it?"

Winona didn't turn around. Her eyes flicked upward, and she saw Wallace's reflection in the glass as he stood behind her.

"The Battle Pyramid is ingenious," she commented. "I've never seen anything quite like it. Did Brandon engineer it himself?"

"I don't know," Wallace admitted. "He knows how to pilot it, though, if that's any indication."

The Fortree City Gym Leader didn't respond.

"I'm really glad you're here," Wallace continued, filling the silence. Winona slid her hand down the glass and slowly turned to face the Champion with an indiscernible expression.

"I felt it was my duty to come," she responded, mellow.

"Nevertheless," Wallace went on, "I haven't seen you in a while. The circumstances are not ideal, but I am glad anyway."

"Wallace!"

Both he and Winona turned to see who had called.

"Juan, Fantina," Wallace regarded politely as the two approached. Fantina's arm was wrapped around Juan's, and they had abandoned their usual, elegant dress for more weather-appropriate attire—or rather, battle-appropriate attire.

"How are you?" Juan greeted pleasantly.

"I'm well," Wallace said. "Was there something you needed?"

"To the point, hm?" Juan teased, though he knew precisely why his former student was in a rush to send him and Fantina away. The Sootopolis City Gym Leader's eyes flicked briefly over to Winona, and she perked up.

"Yes, actually," Juan continued. "Fantina and I both feel a little fuzzy as to what our responsibilities will be once we reach Shroomish Forest, and we're wondering if you could possibly clarify it for us."

"To my knowledge, Lance is meeting with Surge right now, trying to figure out our strategy," Wallace answered. "Surge is a former army CO, so we wanted him at the helm of planning today's operation."

"Only now are they devising their plan?" Fantina seemed disturbed. "_C'est inquiétant_."

"It was not my call," Wallace admitted.

"Not your call?" Juan raised an eyebrow. "Well, do you know if we will all meet together after said strategy is completed?"

"I imagine so," Wallace replied.

"You're not sure?"

"Well..." Wallace suddenly felt as though his entire stature had been reduced, seeing the looks Wallace, Fantina, and Winona were giving him. He realized these were questions to which he should have definitive answers, but he simply didn't.

Juan's lips tightened, and Fantina cast him a quick, sideways glance.

"Come, Winona," Fantina redirected her attention to the Flying-type trainer after a moment. "We should catch up."

Winona nodded, and they quickly headed off together. Juan watched them go before facing Wallace with a serious expression, and the Hoenn Champion sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Tell me, Wallace," Juan began calmly, "Do you feel it's fair to send a large group of people—no matter how experienced they are as trainers—into battle when there's no guidance prepared?"

"There will be guidance," Wallace insisted.

"You're not sure," Juan repeated.

"I do not appreciate the chastisement," Wallace said. "I am not a teenager anymore."

"I'm not chastising you," Juan clarified. "I am merely asking you a question."

Wallace's hand fell to his side, and he looked his former mentor straight in the eye.

"No," he said.

"Then why?"

"I don't..." Wallace paused, struggling to find an answer—an answer beyond 'I don't know.' Something substantive; something that did not reek of his own naïvety and unpreparedness.

"Because it was not your call?" Juan suggested.

"I trust Lance," Wallace defended.

"There's nothing wrong with that. Lance is undoubtedly a brilliant and compelling leader," Juan said. "However, you do not answer to Lance."

Wallace looked at Juan strangely; he knew he should have known that, but he supposed he hadn't realized it. At least, not until someone, just now, had told him.

"I believe I understand what has happened here," Juan continued.

"You do?"

"Yes," Juan nodded. "When Steven yielded the Championship title to you, he took a hands-off approach during the transition and placed a lot of distance between you and him, because he didn't want to make you feel like he was attempting to undermine your authority. His intentions were admirable, but the unfortunate result was you did not receive the guidance you needed to be a Champion and leader of a G-Men branch. As such, you are unsure of your capabilities, of which Lance is fully aware and willing to take advantage."

Wallace remained silent.

"Mind you, I am not suggesting Lance is a bad person, but he is determined to be right and determined to have things done his way," Juan went on. "Admittedly, this isn't always a terrible thing; there's no denying he is good at what he does. But there are inevitable problems that arise when one person leads without restraint; biases prevail, mistakes are made, things fall through the cracks."

Wallace blinked. He realized Juan was likely referring to the bus crash in which the fourteen trainers died, but his mind immediately connected his mentor's words to a different, though related matter: Leaf's apparent disobedience and the disappearance of those same fourteen trainers from the G-Men's radar.

"Men like Lance need to be surrounded by smart people who disagree with him," Juan continued.

"That's what Cynthia's for," Wallace broke in.

"Cynthia is one person," Juan reminded him. "Alder is a good man, but he avoids contention like the plague, and if you, yourself will never contest Lance's opinion, she will always be outnumbered."

Wallace, once again, said nothing.

"Remember, Wallace: You are the leader of Hoenn. You deserve respect, and you have the right to be a part of the conversation. Don't let yourself become an 'other' to Lance," Juan said firmly. Wallace straightened up, and Juan, with a half-smile, finished, "Let me know when you and the others have a plan."

* * *

"Well, either you've had a few too many sweets since I last saw you, or you're pregnant!"

Cynthia slowly brought her eyes up to the speaker: Flint, a member of the Elite Four in her region. Volkner was standing nearby with an exasperated expression, embarrassed his companion had greeted the Champion in such a manner.

"Always a pleasure to see you, Flint," she said dryly.

"Hey, don't give me that look, Cynthia," the redhead began, grinning. "I know what you're thinking, and you don't need to tell me. I may be a batter for the other team, but I still know the two unspoken rules of women: (1) Never ask them how old they are; (2) Never ask them whether they're pregnant."

"Well, _now_ they're spoken," Volkner muttered under his breath.

"_But_," Flint plowed on, "Volkner said he was 99.9 percent sure you were, so I was willing to take my chances."

Volkner gave him a disbelieving, 'Oh Arceus, why did you have to bring me into this?' look. Cynthia couldn't help but smile and chuckle.

"Well, you're both very lucky men, because I'm a little more than four months in."

"Ah..." Volkner snapped his attention back to her. "That's really great news, Cynthia. Congratulations."

"Yeah!" Flint agreed. "Funny thing, though, you'd think something like that would get around pretty fast. I hadn't heard anything about it."

"Steven and I have kept it pretty low-key."

"I see." Volkner inclined his head toward her. "Does this mean you won't be joining us today?"

"Yes," Cynthia confirmed. "I'm staying on the Battle Pyramid once we land. I'll be overseeing communication between here and all of you while you're in the Team Rocket base."

"By yourself?"

"Of course not. Aside from some G-Men agents, a Pokémon Watcher named Tracey Sketchit and his girlfriend, Daisy Waterflower, will be staying behind with me, too," Cynthia explained. "So, you two will need to knock out an extra Rocket grunt's Pokémon in my stead."

"Ha!" Flint gave her a thumbs-up. "You know you can count on us!"

* * *

When Steven saw them—his former colleagues, the Hoenn gym leaders—his first instinct was to warmly greet them and lead the way for friendly conversation, which would serve to distract from any potential anxieties regarding their upcoming mission. Yet, as soon as he turned, he felt his confidence deflate, thinking it would perhaps be inappropriate or uncomfortable. After all, they had not seen too much of him since his move to Sinnoh.

He was about to head in the opposite direction; then he heard his name called.

"Steven! Steven, come talk to us!"

The invitation came from Brawly.

Steven let out a sigh and smiled before turning to face the group, which comprised Brawly, Roxanne, Watson, Flannery, and the twins, Tate and Liza.

"Brawly, it's good to see you again," the former Hoenn Champion said as he strode toward the group. He and the Dewford Gym Leader clasped hands and gave each other a quick, rough embrace, before Steven turned to face the rest. "It's good to see _all_ of you again."

"It's been years, hasn't it?" Roxanne smiled.

"It has," Steven concurred. "How are your studies at the Pokémon Trainer's School in Rustboro?"

"They're great! I'm graduating in the Spring."

"Aw, Roxie, you didn't tell him the best part," Brawly teased with a grin. "She's graduating top of her class; the Valedictorian!"

"Brawly!" Roxanne's cheeks tinted pink, though she did seem quite proud.

"Really? That's wonderful, Roxanne. You deserve it with how hard you've worked," Steven said before turning an eye to the twins. "Tate, Liza—how have you and your parents been?"

"We're awesome!" Liza answered.

"Mom and Dad miss you at the Mossdeep Space Center, though," Tate added. "You were always a big help with your research on space rocks and stuff."

"Tell them I send them my regards." Steven then glanced at Flannery, whose eyes were shyly glued to the ground. She was the last to attain the position of gym leader before Steven left his Championship title; as a result, he was probably the least close with her of all the Hoenn gym leaders. Yet, he knew and was good friends with her predecessor, and as such was aware of her initial issues with finding her style as a gym leader. Steven inclined his head toward her and inquired, "Flannery?"

"Ah, yes?" Flannery stood up straight.

"I've heard good things from your grandfather about the gym," Steven continued. "Do you feel you've settled in?"

"Yes, I think so." She nodded quickly.

"Good. I'm glad for that."

The Lavaridge Gym Leader relaxed, and suddenly, she couldn't contain her smile.

"Thank you, sir," she said.

"Well, enough about us, Steven!" Watson broke in, giving the Steel-type specialist a friendly slap on the back. "What've you been up to? I couldn't help but notice that Cynthia..." His voice trailed off, and Steven let out a breathy chuckle.

"Yes, we are expecting," Steven confirmed.

"Really?" Roxanne brightened.

"That's super-" Liza began.

"-exciting!" Tate finished.

"That's great news; I'm happy for ya," Watson added, flashing his million-dollar grin and letting out a hearty laugh. "Nothin' quite like havin' a new baby in the family! Recently became a grandpa myself. Ah, but this is your and Cynthia's first, isn't it?"

"It is," Steven affirmed.

"You nervous?" Brawly asked.

"A little," Steven admitted. He felt enough at ease to sit down. "But I'm more excited than anything."

"You should be," Roxanne insisted. "You'll be a great father."

Hearing such warmed him, and he melted into another smile. It was as if nothing had changed; he was at home again.

* * *

"I have to thank you all for coming today," Alder said, sitting among several of his own gym leaders. "It is..." He paused to carefully choose his words; he refused to betray his own feelings. "...greatly appreciated."

"Hn, I think we should be thankin' you, Alder. I think we all have wanted a piece of the action for a while now; a chance to get back at Team Rocket. Sons'a bitches, all of 'em," Clay groused. "Yup, I'm glad you asked us to come, Alder."

"Do you suspect Moltres will be there?" Elesa asked, crossing her legs.

"Can't say for sure," Alder replied.

"Well, here's to hoping," Brycen commented. "It would be a shame if after all this effort, nothing changed."

"Even if Moltres isn't there, we will have accomplished something," Burgh pointed out. "It is no small feat to bring down an entire branch of a criminal organization."

"A _branch_?" Skyla glanced at Alder. "Does that mean there's more of them?"

"Again, nothin's for sure," Alder answered calmly, "but I'll admit my gut feeling tells me yes."

"Well, if that's the case," Lenora began, "please, do not hesitate to reach out again. I want to help as much as possible."

"Same here," Roxie added. "You know, Alder, I'm glad you asked us to be here, too. I'm looking forward to kicking some serious Team Rocket butt."

Alder offered the Virbank City Gym Leader a crooked grin but said nothing. This was not how he wanted it to happen; in fact, he would have preferred there be no fighting at all.

* * *

"So, a little birdie told me you're _engaged_," Gardenia teased, sliding up next to Maylene. Roark had followed the Eterna City Gym Leader closely behind and was standing nearby. Maylene smiled and resisted a laugh. She didn't know Gardenia terribly well, but the Grass-type specialist had always been outgoing and friendly to her whenever they crossed paths.

"What little birdie is this?" Maylene asked.

"Well, the rings helps," Gardenia admitted. "Still..." She glanced at Roark. "... you'd be surprised, but Byron, Roark's father, is a bit of a gossip."

"I wouldn't go _that_ far." Roark craned an eyebrow.

"Right, sorry," Gardenia amended. "He just says things—little hints n' stuff—hoping Roark'll get the message that he needs to find himself a lady friend." Gardenia wriggled her eyebrows at the Rock-type trainer suggestively, and he rolled his eyes.

"Oh _Mew_," he muttered, though he couldn't help but smile, too.

"Well, I suppose that's what you have each other for," Maylene said, and Gardenia immediately busted up laughing. Roark glowered at her.

"Yeah, I suppose so," she finally agreed. "Oh Roark, don't give me that look; it was a _joke_. Anyway—" Gardenia leaned closer toward Maylene. "—who is the guy?"

"Ah... Reggie Rebolledo," Maylene answered. "He and I have known each other since he moved to Veilstone eight years ago. He's a breeder."

"Rebolledo..." Roark mused. "Any relation to Paul Rebolledo?"

"Yes. He's his older brother," Maylene answered. She quickly amended, "_Was_ his older brother." She mentally chastised herself; past tense. She needed to remember to speak in the past tense.

"Oh..." Gardenia's face fell.

"That whole thing is just a shame," Roark sighed. "Though, I suppose it's part of the reason why we're here today, right?"

Maylene paused to think over her answer.

"Part of it," she finally decided upon.

* * *

"Excuse me," a young woman with long, light brown hair broke in, drawing in Solidad and Harley's attention as they passed by, "but I think I recognize you. You're Solidad Natochenny, right?"

"Yes, that's right," Solidad affirmed with a quick nod as she and Harley stopped. "You'll have to forgive me. I'm afraid I can't recall meeting you before."

"Oh, that's because we haven't. My name is Jasmine Rosenfield. I'm the gym leader in Olivine City, Johto." She extended her hand toward Solidad. "I've been a fan ever since I saw your performance in the Kanto Grand Festival. I have a mild interest in contests, and while I was on leave from the gym last year, I went to Sinnoh and entered a few."

"That's wonderful." Solidad shook the gym leader's hand. "I always think it's good to expand your horizons."

"Hey hun," Harley drew out his words as he leaned toward Jasmine. "Recognize _me_?"

"Of course," Jasmine answered. "You're Harley Rannells. You just won the Johto Grand Festival, didn't you?"

"Ding ding ding!" Harley grinned. "Right you are!"

"Was there a reason you wanted to talk to us?" Solidad inquired affably.

"I actually just wanted to offer you my condolences," Jasmine admitted. "I heard you and Drew Hayden were very close."

Solidad's breath caught; she had not expected to be confronted by this again. She thought it would all be over after the Grand Festival; that she could expend all her energy putting on a solemn face for that one period, and then she wouldn't have to worry about it again. She reached into her personal reserve for more mourning, but she found there was little, if nothing, left.

"Yes," she finally said.

"Are you all right?"

"I've been well, actually."

"You have?"

"Ah... yes." Solidad realized that was not the right thing to say; at least, it was not the easy thing to say. She searched for an explanation. "I've been able to feel more at peace because of G-Men's progress on the case."

"Progress?"

Solidad mentally stumbled.

"Well, you know, the G-Men made an arrest just a couple of days ago—Drew's father." Solidad stopped short and sucked in her breath. Again, she was saying the wrong thing; not only was she saying the wrong thing, she was saying something she wasn't supposed to say. Harley cast her a curious sideways glance, also knowing she was saying too much. He, of course, would not step in to stop her.

"Really?" Jasmine seemed genuinely surprised. "I didn't know that. His own father?"

"It's a... very messy case." Solidad quickly looked down and then back up. "Well, it's been very nice talking to you. I'm sure we'll see you later."

"Right," Jasmine agreed. "Nice meeting you."

Solidad quickly hurried away with Harley in tow after that. As soon as they were alone, she quickly turned to face him and said:

"Don't let me do that again."

Harley smirked.

"Why not? It's fun to see the G-Men's plan finally begin to collapse in on itself."

* * *

"Brandon." The Pyramid King glanced upward at Brock, who was approaching. The former Pewter City Gym Leader continued, "Lance sent me to ask where we're landing, specifically."

"Specifically, I don't know," Brandon responded.

"Adam Surge needs to know for planning our strategy of attack," Brock elaborated. Brandon groaned.

"This is what happens when we do things last-minute," he groused, shaking his head. "All right, give me a few to figure it out. I'll give Lance my answer once I've reached a decision."

Brock nodded and turned to leave, but not before noticing the Pike Queen, Lucy Williams, was standing next to her fellow Frontier Brain, Anabel Thomas. Brock nearly swooned at the sight of the dark-haired beauty, and _of course_ he had to speak to her.

"Ah, Lucy," he greeted suavely, taking one of her hands into his. "It's been far too long."

Anabel gave him the strangest look, but Lucy seemed mildly amused, flattered even.

"Hello, Brock," she said. "I see you haven't changed a bit."

"But _you_ have," Brock cooed. "You've grown more beautiful since our last meeting."

"Oh stop." Lucy flushed pink, embarrassed. "Tell you what: After today, you can go ahead and give me a call, and we'll have lunch together sometime."

Brock's demeanor brightened twofold at the proposition, while Lucy obtained a sharpie from her bag and wrote her number on Brock's arm. He almost melted at her touch, and then happily drifted away to attend to his on-board duties. As soon as he was gone, Anabel let out a disbelieving laugh.

"You're kidding me, right?" she asked Lucy.

"What?" Lucy knitted her eyebrows together and looked at the girl, bemused. "What's wrong?"

"Interesting choice, that's all."

"He's cute," Lucy insisted.

"Well, good thing someone thinks so," Reggie said, strolling toward the two female Frontier Brains, who both looked to the Veilstone trainer in surprise.

"Reggie," Lucy regarded, recognizing him. "I haven't seen you in years. What are you doing here?"

"Ah... well, Brandon's my father." Reggie took the short, easy answer rather than the long-winded explanation about his involvement with the case.

"Really?" Lucy's brow shot up, and she glanced toward the Pyramid King. "Brandon, I didn't know you had a son."

"I had two," he responded, and the implication rendered both Lucy and Anabel silent. Brandon was silent himself for a long moment before turning toward his first-born. "Reggie, I'm glad you're here. Lance needs the specific location for where we're landing, and I want your help."

"My help?" Reggie blinked.

"Yes, your help," Brandon answered. "Who else?"

Reggie watched his father warily for a long moment, unsure of what to make of him and his invitation. Then, his defenses fell apart, and he nodded.

* * *

"You know," Drayden began, taking up residence beside Clair. "I'm surprised Lance let you come here. You'd think he'd be worried someone might ask questions of why you aren't at Dragon's Den with the children."

Clair's head snapped up.

"Uncle-" she began with wide eyes, realizing he was indirectly referring to himself.

"-You can spare me an explanation," Drayden said calmly. "I knew they weren't with you the moment I saw you here."

Clair exhaled, taking a moment to consider what she should say, now that Drayden had deflated her original approach.

"How did you know they were even alive?"

"I figured that it was a conspiracy long ago, but Lance told me himself."

"Ah." She glanced down at her nervously clenched fists before looking back at the Opelucid City Gym Leader. "I think... I think Lance just has so much on his plate that he probably didn't think it through entirely—inviting me, I mean."

"If that's so, why didn't you decline?" Drayden inquired.

"Because I wanted to come," Clair shrugged. "Moreover, it's not my prerogative to do damage control for Lance."

Drayden raised his brow.

"You were about to," he pointed out, and Clair tightened her lips and said nothing.

_**February 6th, 2002. Late Morning. At Sea.**_

"All right, so here's the deal-" Leaf stopped short as her head swayed with queasiness, and she placed her face down in her hands, trying to make the dizziness stop. Gary let out a sigh and placed his hand on her shoulder, guiding her to a sitting position.

"OK, you just... relax," he said. "I'll take it from here. Here's the deal-" The researcher suddenly stopped, too. "Geez, I can't see anything down here. Can we get some light?"

"Are we ever actually going to hear what the 'deal' is, or are you two going to keep interrupting yourselves?" Paul grumbled in the darkness.

"I would just like to see your face while you're speaking, in case I need to punch it," Gary said dryly. Drew emitted a groan from somewhere in the hold, and he let out his Absol and ordered a Flash.

"Thank you," Gary said, though he and many others winced from the sudden, bright light. "Back to what I was saying: We are now approaching the Sinnoh shoreline." A couple of happy breaths brushed across the group, particularly from the females. "But the problem is that we do not have a plan as to how we're going to get off without being seen. We need ideas."

"Shouldn't we have figured this out days ago?" Silver mumbled.

"You know, you're _right_ Silver," Gary said in mocking praise. "Of course, I'm sure you realized this before any of us and formulated a plan yourself?"

Silver said nothing.

"Thought so," Gary said tautly. "Again, ideas?"

"Well..." May was the first to speak. "Maybe another storm? I mean, it worked one time."

"And you know what they say," Zoey added. "Don't fix if it isn't broken."

"All right," Gary said with a nod. "Does anyone have a Pokémon that knows the move Blizzard?" Silence. Gary let out a frustrated sigh. "No one? Nearly a hundred Pokémon divided among us, and not _one_ knows Blizzard?"

"Don't be so close-minded. It doesn't have to be just Blizzard," Trip interjected. "A Pokémon that knows Rain Dance would probably work just fine, too. If Sinnoh really is as cold as that girl made it out to be, a Rain Dance will turn out snow. It won't be a Blizzard, but it might have the same effect of sending people inside..."

"Trip, that's brilliant!" Cilan commended. Iris, however, didn't seem so keen on the idea of more icy weather, and she let out a shiver at the mere thought.

"It's just common sense..." Trip downplayed it.

"OK, then does anyone have a Pokémon that knows Rain Dance?" Gary asked.

"My Politoed does," Misty said.

"Great," Gary let out a relieved sigh. "Then we should be good to go."

"No, we're not," Leaf moaned, though her voice was muffled as her head remained tucked into her knees. "The crew members. We need to remember the crew members. They weren't on board when Ursula first let us on. They will be when we get off; the storm only takes care of the problem of running into potential passengers to Johto and people in town. We should take that into consideration."

Another brief period of silence followed as the group mulled over this new issue. Then:

"We could always drug them," Drew said.

"Thank you, Drew, for your completely unhelpful suggestion," Gary grumbled, rolling his eyes.

"I'm being serious," the male coordinator persisted. "Wait, look here—" He paused to rummage through his bag, and after a moment's delay, he pulled out a half-full medicinal container. The other half had spilled the night Mewtwo attacked that Maple residence in Petalburg City. "This is Butterfree Sleeping Powder. It's a very powerful narcotic. Normally, a Bug-type's Sleeping Powder puts you to sleep from external contact, but this is manufactured with the intention of it being ingested. You slip this in someone's drink or food, and they'll be out."

"Isn't that illegal?" Dawn asked.

"So is stowing away on a ship."

"Touché."

"Anyway," Drew continued, "what we can do is start a Rain Dance right before we arrive at the port. Hopefully that'll keep the crew members on board, waiting for the storm to pass. At some point, they've got to eat, but their food will be laced with the Sleeping Powder. Then we're free to leave the hold and get off without any fears that some crew member will catch us in the process."

The other trainers took a moment to process the proposition, weighing the pros and cons in their mind.

"You know, Hayden," Gary finally admitted. "It's so crazy that it just might work."

_**February 6th, 2002. Noon. Battle Pyramid.**_

"Lance, if I could have just a moment-" Wallace caught the Indigo Champion in a hurried blur. The Water Master had been looking for him in the pyramid for a while now, and this was the first he had seen of him in the hours since they'd left.

"-Not now, Wallace," Lance cut him off, continuing on his way without as much as a glance.

"It's important, Lance. I think you can spare me a moment," Wallace persisted, following him. Lance stopped and let out a heavy, frustrated sigh before turning to face him.

"What is it?" he demanded. Wallace inhaled.

"I..." The Hoenn Champion paused to gather his confidence. "I think we need to delay our mission."

"I don't have time for this," Lance grumbled, giving Wallace no chance to elaborate as he turned around. The former Sootopolis City Gym Leader was not ready to give up just yet, though.

"Do not _dismiss_ me, Lance," Wallace said, and the angry tone caught Lance by surprise and prompted him to turn back around. Realizing he had Lance's attention, Wallace continued, "I talked to Juan. We are now just two hours away from reaching Shroomish Forest, and not a person on this pyramid seems to have the slightest clue of what we'll be doing once we get there."

"We will before we get there."

"We're rushing it."

"Arceus Wallace, couldn't you have taken issue with this earlier?"

"Maybe I would have if you'd given me the opportunity; you've never taken my opinion into consideration, much less asked for it."

"It's not my job to take a survey of your thoughts and feelings on every problem we encounter," Lance retorted. "I'm here to take down the world's largest criminal organization. I'm not playing the role of a nice guy." Wallace let out an irked sigh, having no response to that.

"Can I have an explanation, then?" he asked. "I think you owe me at least that."

Lance stared, but after a moment's delay, he supposed he could acquiesce.

"I realize it is rushed," he admitted, "but if we waited longer, if we made more time for meticulous planning... Giovanni would grow more impatient. I don't know how he managed to get ahold of that number. If he could do that, well, there's no telling what else he could get his hands on—including those same plans. So, while today may be a rush, it will also be a surprise."

Wallace, again, didn't have a reply. In the space of his silence, Sabrina entered the situation, noticing that the two Champions appeared to be in contempt with each other.

"Pardon me for interrupting, sir," she said cautiously, drawing in both men's attention, "but Officer Surge has completed our strategy. He is prepared to share and explain it to all those on board."

"Excellent. Thank you, Sabrina," Lance told her wearily before looking back at Wallace. "Please gather everyone together. We're all going to learn what we're doing now." He then left with Sabrina, following as they returned to the room in which Surge had been stationed all morning.

"Do you know if he pinpointed the possible locations for Moltres?" Lance asked.

Her lips tightened.

_**February 6th, 2002. Afternoon. At Sea.**_

"Politoed, use Rain Dance."

The clouds came in quickly, and the snow followed soon thereafter in damp, icy clumps. It wasn't ideal, but it was the best they could do. Misty looked out at the approaching Chocovine Town port for a moment longer before pulling her hood up and turning to face the person behind her: Ash.

He watched her as she did all this, but when she faced him, he became entranced. Misty and water were two things that went well together; like how peanut butter and jelly went together, or ketchup and fries. Such remained true in any context, as the soppy weather curled her vibrant red hair into tiny tendrils that clung to her face.

"Do you think this is gonna work?" Ash asked after shaking his self-labeled 'weird' thoughts off. Pikachu, who was situated on his trainer's shoulder, appeared confused by the boy's behavior. Misty frowned and looked up at the sky.

"It's going to have to," she said.

* * *

"Sparky, would you check around the corner for us and make sure no one's there?" The Pikachu happily obliged to his trainer's request and went ahead to peer down the hallway. Ritchie and Drew had been exploring the ship, looking for the kitchen, for nearly ten minutes. Their continued lack of success thus far was steadily increasing their anxiety and self-doubt about their task; the more time they spent out and about the ship, exposed, the more time there was for someone to find them.

Sparky turned and gave the trainers a thumbs-up.

"Pika Pi!"

"Thanks Sparky," Ritchie said, and the two trainers went forward. They wove down several more corridors to no avail. Then, finally, a sign—or rather, a smell.

"Hey, wait a sec." Ritchie paused, forcing Drew to stop as well. "Do you smell that? It smells like..."

"... someone's cooking," Drew finished. The two trainers exchanged quick glances before moving head, following the warm, delicious scent. The trail was not without reward, as they soon happened upon an open-door kitchen. The trainers cautiously peeked inside to see one heavyset man working at a stove near the back.

"Well, what now?" Drew asked.

"Maybe we should distract him?"

"How?"

Ritchie rubbed his chin for a moment, thinking. Then, as soon as inspiration struck, he glanced at Sparky and ordered the Electric-type to use Volt Tackle against the wall ahead of them. Sparky nodded and, bursting with confidence, leapt from his trainer's shoulder and charged toward the wall at full speed.

* * *

Several strings of curses were let out as the ship suddenly tilted to the left, and the trainers and Pokémon and boxes left in hold tipped along with it and fell in a heap against the wall.

"Sheesh, what was that?" Barry demanded, groaning in mild pain. Someone was crushing his leg. "I'm obviously gonna have to hand out a fine somewhere!"

"I dunno," Trip answered his question, "but let's hope it _does not happen again_."

* * *

Ritchie and Drew, too, lost their balance and hit the wall with a loud 'thud.'

"Arceus, you couldn't have given me some warning?" Drew grumbled as he rubbed his head.

"Sorry," Ritchie said sheepishly.

"What the-" The booming voice of the chef could be heard from inside the kitchen, and a series of hard footsteps soon followed.

"Great, now he's coming."

"Yeah, I could've thought this through better," Ritchie admitted as he and Drew staggered to their feet. Sparky quickly scurried back to his trainer, and Drew desperately looked around for an escape route. Instead, he saw a small, closet door, and he dove for the handle. By some stroke of luck, it was unlocked, and he quickly ushered Ritchie and himself inside just before the chef came stalking out, angrily muttering, "Is this some kind of joke?"

They watched him through the vent and waited for him to disappear around the corner before leaving their safe space. They scrambled to get inside the kitchen, and Drew fumbled for his bottle of Butterfree Sleeping Powder, unscrewing the cap. A large pot of soup was boiling on the stove, and some of its red broth had splashed out as a result of the Volt Tackle.

Drew quickly poured the entire contents of the medicinal bottle into the pot. Ritchie made a grab for a nearby spoon and stirred the bluish powder into the red liquid, until it disappeared. Their job done, they left as quickly as they came—all without being seen, which was, in and of itself, a miracle.

_**February 6th, 2002. Afternoon. Team Rocket Base - Hoenn.**_

It had been nothing more than a normal day.

Rocket Grunts moved about the offices casually, as they usually did. They went on fulfilling their duties, finishing their assigned tasks, like cogs in a machine, grinding along at a steady pace. When there was a crash that echoed from elsewhere in the building, no one flinched. A few paused to wonder what had happened, but most presumed it was probably a minor accident. Such wasn't terribly uncommon.

Only Archer, the head executive of the Hoenn location, did anything in response to the disturbance. He picked up the phone on his desk and punched a couple of numbers in.

"Yes, hello, can you redirect me to the department of-" He stopped short when he realized that, for some odd reason, the number he had tried was no longer in service. He pulled the phone away from his ear, confused. He dialed it again, but it gave the same result.

Archer let out a long sigh and placed the phone back on its hook. He supposed he would have to go find out what happened in person. As he headed into the hallway, he heard another crash—this time, it was closer. Archer, as well as many other Rocket employees, became vastly more concerned in the second instance. The teal-haired man quickened his pace toward the door, but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw several trainers and their Pokémon barreling toward them through the window panel.

Before he had a chance to speak, much less react, the doors flew open as a Dragonite stormed inside and unleashed a Hyper Beam. Archer dove out of the way just in time. He looked to see the powerful energy beam tear up the path in which he had stood, its mere force sending papers flying. Then he saw him, for only an instant, but it was all he needed to see.

"_Lance_?" he muttered under his breath, horrified. He ducked under a desk as the Indigo Champion and several others passed by with their Pokémon. He then grabbed the phone off the desk above him and tried the numbers to several different departments.

"The G-Men have found us," he muttered seriously into the receiver once he found one that worked. "Destroy the computers; erase everything, shred and burn everything."

He promptly hung up after that and, touching the gun kept on his waist, he cautiously rose to his feet and hurried out the door in which the G-Men had entered.

_**February 6th, 2002. Afternoon. Battle Pyramid.**_

"This is Cynthia Stone at the Battle Pyramid," the Sinnoh Champion spoke calmly and clearly as she received yet another radio call. She had a single headphone pressed to her left ear to receive transmissions, while her other remained uncovered so she could hear and make exchanges with others who had stayed behind in the pyramid. "State your name and location."

"_This is Falkner Mitler, and I'm in room 317_."

"Is there anyone with you?"

"_Whitney Hollingshead and Morty Rannells_."

"What's happening, Falkner?"

"_We've detained a Rocket grunt, and we've swept the room._"

"Have you seen Moltres?"

"_No, er, negative._"

Cynthia frowned, her shoulders sagging slightly.

"Thank you, Falkner," she said, ending the transmission. She then looked to Tracey and Daisy, who were standing at a table with the Hoenn blueprint spread out in front of them.

"That's a negative on 317," the Champion said. Tracey marked an 'X' covering the entire room. It had become familiar practice at that point; it was the twenty-fourth 'X' he and Daisy had made. Daisy stared blankly at the paper before lifting her head to make eye contact with the Sinnoh Champion.

"Moltres isn't going to be there, is it?" Daisy's voice cracked into tiny, disappointed pieces as she said this, and Cynthia looked at the blonde solemnly for a long moment before answering another call on the radio.

_**February 6th, 2002. Late Afternoon. Chocovine Town.**_

"Hey!" The hatch was thrown open, and there stood Ritchie and Drew outside the hold, drenched from the watery snowfall. Ash and Misty appeared behind the two with their respective Pokémon, looking on curiously. Drew continued, "We're good to go! The crew's asleep."

"Are you sure?" Leaf staggered to her feet.

"Yes," Ritchie. "We saw it. We checked the staff dining room when we saw the soup being carried off to be served, and they're definitely asleep. Like, the passed out in their food kind of asleep."

"Aw, man!" Kenny grinned. "Ritchie and Drew win heroes of the day!"

"Well, thank Mew, became I am ready to get out of here," Zoey sighed, relieved. The trainers then began moving to exit the hold, and most found the freedom so welcoming that they didn't mind the weather.

"Careful, the deck's really slick," Misty warned her peers as they emerged, and as soon as she said it, Barry, in his rush, slipped and fell straight back on his bottom. She sighed. "What did I tell you?"

"Let's just get off this boat and out of Chocovine Town as soon as possible," Leaf mumbled as Dawn and Kenny helped Barry up. She turned to watch Trip and Paul work to unlock the chains on the gangplank and let it down.

_**February 6th, 2002. Early Evening. Location Unknown.**_

"I still don't have exact numbers as to how many were detained," Domino's voice wavered slightly as she spoke. Although they couldn't see each other—they were on the phone—his silence was terrifying. When he was angry, he yelled. When he was furious, he was quiet and calm, though inwardly seething; it was when he was at his most dangerous. "But, um... from early counts, it does not look too good. There were some that managed to escape without being captured by the G-Men, but not many."

Domino herself had not been present at the Hoenn base—she was stationed elsewhere—but the frantic calls from lower-level grunts began pouring into her and other distinguished Team Rocket members' offices soon after the siege began.

"The good news is that I've been receiving reports that much—if not all—sensitive material was destroyed internally before the G-Men could get their hands on it," she continued.

"Good." It was the first thing Giovanni had said in a while. "Have either you, Petrel, or Proton spoken to Archer yet?"

Domino felt her gut clench. She had dreaded this question, though she knew it would come.

"Sir," she began slowly, swallowing, "Archer is dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head."

Silence.

"Thank you, Agent 009," he said cordially after a long moment. "We'll speak about this later."

He disconnected the call and slowly rose to his feet, fists clenched. He turned to face Mewtwo, who stood in his full suit of mechanical armor without need for restraint. He would not run; to run would be to disobey, and he could not disobey.

Giovanni knew Archer's death was actually good news. It was better he were dead than captured. He, as a Rocket executive, was a treasure trove of information; information that would ruin everything they had planned thus far. Archer understood that, which was presumably why he'd taken action to protect such information. The capture of lower-level grunts, while painful, would not be such a hard blow. The Hoenn location was small. While some had knowledge Giovanni would have preferred Lance not have access to, it would not mean the organization's end.

"It's time to up the ante," he said as his eyes fixated on the clone. "We need to begin making plans for a new capture."

Mewtwo, of course, did not respond. He was no longer capable of sentient thought; he had become a mere shell of his former self.

.

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_A/N: There will be a second special chapter posted on Tuesday. Thank you for your support thus far._

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	22. Special II

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Special II: In Which Love Abounds

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_**February 14th, 2002. Noon. Olivine City.**_

"Sorry, my Valentine's Day is already booked," Ursula said, coating her voice with sugary—very sugary—sweetness. She had trouble concealing her pleasure at watching her young suitor's built-up confidence deflate at her rejection. "I guess you're a little cute, though, so I'll consider giving you a call sometime in the future. But thanks for the flowers!"

Ursula then shut the door with her hip and let out a derisive chuckle. This was not the first male to visit her today, and he would likely not be the last. She certainly didn't mind, however; the attention was nice, even if she would maybe go out with only one or two of them.

She found an extra vase in her kitchen, placed the red and pink tulips she'd received in it, and added some fresh water. She took a step back to admire the sight before heading into her living room. Several unopened packages of chocolates and other sweets were strewn out across the coffee table.

Ursula laid on her sofa and, snatching the remote, turned on the television. The G-Men's takedown of the Team Rocket base in Shroomish Forest was still the hot topic of the news cycle, even more than a week after the fact. Ursula let on a satisfied smirk, deciding to watch. She credited herself for enabling the G-Men to complete such a mission; without her stellar acting that allowed her to deliver Leaf's message to Lance, the Hoenn base would have never fallen.

She broke into a box of tarts and tossed one into her mouth. She deserved it.

**_February 14th, 2002. Noon. Somewhere in Sinnoh._**

"If noon is the hottest part of the day, I don't want to even think about tonight."

Misty said this as she looked up at the bright blue sky above her, squinting at the white hot sun. Despite its presence, the air around them hung cold, and the snow they had trudged through for the past couple of days would not melt.

"Aw, come on, Mist'. It's not so bad..." Ash said as he bent down, gathering some of the snow. Pikachu hopped into the snow, distancing himself from his trainer and the undoubtedly stupid decision he was about to make. "... after all, all this snow means we can have a... _snowball fight_!"

He pitched a perfectly rounded snowball at her and managed to hit the back of her left shoulder. He started laughing—until Misty turned around to give him a death glare. Then he knew he was in trouble.

"Uh-oh," he mumbled before making a break for it. Unfortunately for him, running in the inches-deep snow was a near impossible task, and he stumbled and fell face-first into it. Now it was Misty's turn to laugh.

"I don't even have to try with you anymore, Ash Ketchum," she teased as she came up beside him. "Your idiocy solves more problems than it creates."

Cilan looked up from his cooking to watch as Misty helped a red-faced Ash up. He titled his head slightly, his interest piqued, and smiled.

* * *

"Happy Valentine's Day."

May blinked when Drew presented her a pristine red rose, unharmed by the effects of the poor weather. This was the first she had seen in a long while, before they had even left, which was precisely why she was confused to see one now. Drew raised his eyebrows and cleared his throat, and May realized with embarrassment that she had been staring.

"Thanks," she mumbled, flustered. "I didn't even know it was Valentine's Day."

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me." Drew flicked his hair.

May didn't respond for a moment. Rather she glanced down at her gifted flower, tenderly touching one of the petals. She did appreciate the gesture, more than Drew was aware.

"Well, thank you," she said sincerely, and Drew initially seemed surprised that she had chosen to ignore his sarcastic provocation in favor of turning this into a more sentimental moment. Not that he minded.

"You're welcome," he replied after pulling himself together.

May nodded and let on a shy smile before glancing down at the rose again. She hadn't forgotten the night he'd nearly kissed her (at least, she was pretty sure he was going to kiss her), and as such, she had been reading into his actions a little differently than before. Cilan had insisted a kiss meant a lot from a male's end if he held special feelings toward her. Zoey rebutted such wasn't always the case. May knew whom she wanted to believe.

Wrapping her blanket a little tighter around her, she leaned against Drew's shoulder. He immediately grew tense from the contact, but after realizing he was pleased with such a development, he was able to relax.

* * *

"Arceus," Paul muttered under his breath. Dawn perked up with interest and glanced in the direction where he was looking to see May and Drew getting quite cozy together.

"Aww," she cooed. "That's so sweet, and on Valentine's Day, too."

He shook his head, apparently disagreeing. Dawn frowned at him.

"What? It _is_ sweet," she insisted.

"I'm not one for public displays of affection," he said, and she craned an eyebrow.

"Huh," she mused. "Well, I guess I'll have to keep that in mind."

Paul looked at her strangely, and she turned pink; she hadn't meant to say that, and she certainly hadn't meant to leave such an impression on his mind. She didn't know how Paul read into things, but that line definitely could have been interpreted as flirting.

"I-I mean," she fumbled to correct herself, and he turned away.

"OK then," he said before leaving. She tilted her head, baffled by his behavior.

* * *

Kenny watched the events between Paul and Dawn unfold, and though he couldn't make out what they were saying, her blush before he left was evident to the male coordinator. He glowered at them and looked away.

"I still can't wrap my mind around it," he said glumly. The only person around to hear his personal heartache was Zoey, and she cast him a careful sideways glance before also looking to Paul and Dawn.

Kenny had always felt like Zoey was on his side; he couldn't talk to Barry much about his frustration, since Barry idolized Paul and would get strangely moody whenever he tried to bring up the fact that there seemed to be something going on between Dawn and the Veilstone trainer. Zoey, however, was just as wary as him, and they seemed to share a mutual agreement that Paul was not a good choice for their friend.

All this was why her response, which took a more neutral approach than previous instances, surprised him.

"Stranger things have happened, I suppose," she said.

* * *

"You know, I'm kind of disappointed we're out here on Valentine's Day," Gary began wistfully, watching Leaf as she made marks on her map of Sinnoh. She looked up at him and cocked an eyebrow.

"Why?" she asked. "Miss your cheerleaders?"

"Nah," Gary answered. "That's not it. I don't care for Valentine's Day as a 'romance' holiday. I could get a date any of the 365 days of the year." Leaf rolled her eyes. He continued, "What I'm disappointed about is missing the February 15th after-Valentine's Day sale on candy. Half-price in Viridian City."

She let out a sigh.

"You're unbelievable."

**_February 14th, 2002. Noon. Pewter City._**

"Ah, I really just have no idea what I should do!" Maylene exclaimed, exasperated. She was sitting beside Solidad in the coordinator's apartment, stressing over her and Reggie's celebrations for Valentine's Day. Harley was in the adjacent kitchen, cutting small heart-shaped sandwiches for lunch.

"Well, what does he have planned tonight?" Solidad asked.

"We have reservations for dinner at a nice restaurant; somewhere where you have to dress up," Maylene answered.

"Maybe that's enough. Do you know if he got you a gift?"

"I don't," Maylene sighed. "Still... I feel like since we just got engaged that I should do something really special for him."

"Hun," Harley injected himself into the conversation from the kitchen. "You're overthinking this. There's nothin' special you need to do. Just go with the Valentine's Day staple: Buy some red lingerie and have fun tonight."

"Harley, make your sandwiches," Solidad dismissed. Maylene, meanwhile, turned bright pink from the suggestion. Solidad continued, "He is right about one thing, though. You _are_ overthinking it. He'll love anything you do for him."

"I suppose so..." Maylene's voice drifted off.

"But you know what he'd love the most?" Harley re-emerged from the kitchen. "You tied up in a big red ribbon in his bed."

Solidad snatched one of her throw pillows and flung it at his head.

* * *

"A Pokémon Doctor, huh?" Lucy inquired, stirring her drink. "An interesting choice. I thought you wanted to be a Pokémon Breeder, though?"

She and Brock were sitting in a nice Pewter City lunch café, enjoying a couple of drinks and a light meal. Brock had jumped on the opportunity to set up a date when she left him her number, and he had done so on the most romantic day of them all: Valentine's Day.

"I did," Brock admitted, "but I had a growing interest in the field for a while, so I finally decided to make the change."

"I see." Lucy smiled, and Brock inwardly melted. "So how are your studies going?"

"Ah, well..." Brock hesitated. "I actually took the semester off."

"Why?"

"I..." He searched for an appropriate answer. "I just needed some time to recalibrate myself after what happened in December."

"Oh!" Lucy's eyes widened, suddenly remembering that he was close with Ash Ketchum. "I'm very sorry; I shouldn't have brought it up."

"No, no, you're fine," Brock insisted. "We've talked enough about me anyway. How have you been doing?"

* * *

Reggie felt uncertain when Brandon asked to meet him and had almost declined. Yet, his fiancée managed to talk him into it, assuring him that she needed to visit Solidad anyway.

"Are you and Maylene doing anything special tonight?" Brandon asked as he and his son maintained a steady, though brisk pace down the sidewalk.

"We're going out to dinner," Reggie answered shortly.

"That'll be nice for you two," Brandon nodded. "You know, I really do like Maylene. She's a very nice young woman."

"Yeah..." Reggie couldn't help but smile.

"Are you two planning on having children?"

"Not until Paul's older." He decided not to elaborate any further than that, and he wasn't sure why. His explanation—that Paul was sensitive to change after his displacement at 8, and that neither he or Maylene wanted to upset him more with the addition of the baby when he was already unsure of Reggie getting married at all—was a perfectly reasonable one, but he supposed he didn't want to rip at the guilt his father already felt from sending them away.

Brandon didn't respond as he suddenly stopped, his eyes growing distant. Reggie stopped, too, confused by his behavior. Then he realized they were standing in front of the cemetery.

"Dad..." Reggie began, but Brandon didn't seem to be listening. The Frontier Brain moved forward, and Reggie knew where he was going.

It had been quite a while since Reggie visited his mother's grave. In fact, if he remembered correctly, the last time he went to the Pewter City cemetery was six years ago, following his loss to Brandon at the Battle Pyramid. The impromptu visitation was part of the reason he had held up Paul for so long.

As Brandon approached the headstone, he pulled a slightly withered lily from the inside of his coat and bent down to lay it on top of the untouched sheen of snow.

"Twelve years later, I still miss your mother," he reflected.

"She's only been dead for eight."

"I lost her long before then," Brandon explained. "You might be too young to remember what she was like before the sickness took over."

"I still remember," Reggie insisted. Brandon slowly rose up and turned to face him.

"The greatest regret of my life," he began, "will always be getting involved with Project Legendary. I don't know what I would have done to help your mother, but I would have figured something out—something that meant I wouldn't have lost her or my two children."

Reggie watched him for a long moment, and after locking eyes with his father, he said, "You haven't lost us yet, Dad."

**_February 14th, 2002. Afternoon. Viridian City._**

"All right," the nurse began, sliding her pencil back into her clipboard, "the technician will be with you in just a few minutes, so hold tight."

Steven thanked the nurse as she left, and Cynthia adjusted her shirt. She mentally noted that she needed to go shopping for maternity wear. She had put it off doing it for a while, since she had been so busy with her work at the Indigo Plateau; in fact, she had put off most pregnancy-related tasks for a while, including this appointment.

"I'm sorry," Cynthia suddenly apologized. "The doctor's office is not a very nice place to be on Valentine's Day, is it?"

Steven let out a chuckle.

"Considering the circumstances, I really don't mind," he said. "The Team Rocket debacle has been very consuming for both of us, so it's nice to get away from that and enjoy personal life again—even mundane errands, like trips to the doctor's office."

Cynthia smiled crookedly. The unfortunate reality was that within a couple of hours, they would have to return to the professional sphere and become immersed in the issue of Team Rocket once again. With Moltres still missing and Giovanni still at large, there was more work to be done. The shutdown of the Hoenn base was only the beginning; with more than a hundred Rocket employees in custody, there were many interviews to be had, trials to be dealt out, and new bits of information to piece together.

"Hello!" The technician suddenly entered, a bright smile plastered across her face. "Sorry for the wait. My name is Esther, and I'll be giving you your Ultrasound today." She shook both of the Champions' hands, before turning her attention specifically to Cynthia.

"Have you ever had an Ultrasound before, Mrs. Stone?" Esther asked.

"No, this'll be my first."

"Ah, well there's no need to worry," Esther assured her. "To give a brief overview of what will happen: I'll apply a gel over your belly, and then place a wand-like device called a transducer over it. The transducer sends and receives sound waves that will be analyzed by the computer to produce an image. It's completely safe, by the way."

"I'm not worried," Cynthia replied tacitly. She couldn't imagine a reason why someone would possibly think Ultrasounds were unsafe.

"All right. Let's get started then."

Esther flicked off the lights and invited Cynthia to lie down and pull up her shirt to her chest, which she did. Esther followed all the steps she had outlined in her speech, and Cynthia shivered as she began to push the cool, bluish gel across her skin.

"Let's search for a heartbeat," Esther mumbled. "Ah, there it is. There's your baby."

The image was grainy and unclear, but the definitive shape of a fetus became apparent to both Cynthia and Steven, and they became entranced. They had always known the pregnancy was real—they could see it from her ballooning lower abdomen, and Cynthia definitely could feel it with the sickness she had endured—but watching that image on the screen made their reality more tangible. Steven's hand made its way to Cynthia's, and the two smiled at each other.

"Would you like to know the gender?" Esther asked, drawing the couple out of their enchantment.

Cynthia and Steven glanced at each other in surprise. They had not even considered gender, much less the fact that they could actually learn the gender at this point in the pregnancy—which led to another host of questions the couple hadn't even considered, including what the name of their child would be.

Steven nodded at Cynthia, turning the decision over to her. Cynthia looked back at Esther.

"Yes, we would like to know the gender."

The technician's lips curled upward.

"A girl."

**_February 14th, 2002. Afternoon. Indigo Plateau._**

"Is there anything you can tell me about Project Legendary?" Wallace posed the question calmly, though firmly, as Lance's instructions dictated.

The girl sitting across from him couldn't make direct eye contact with him. She kept looking down, nervous, terrified even. She had told Wallace that her name was Ali and that she was 19, though she had joined Team Rocket when she was 11.

"I... no." She shook her head. "I heard about it, but I didn't know anything about. I work in the offices, that's it. I'm at the bottom of the ladder; I don't hear anything about that sort of thing." Tears were starting to form in her eyes, and Wallace sighed.

"Sir?" Wallace looked up. Adalet was at the door. The agent continued, "I'm sorry to interrupt. There's someone here to see you, but I can tell them to wait."

"No, that's all right," Wallace said, rising to his feet. "This interview is over. Please escort Miss Ali back to her cell."

Wallace promptly left, but his ears still caught the sounds of the girl's despairing sobs, and he winced. He knew he was not supposed to sympathize with the Team Rocket employees—Lance had expressly told him and Alder not to—but it was becoming very, very difficult.

The Hoenn Champion stepped out into the hallway and found, with much surprise, that Winona was waiting for him. The shock must have manifested itself in his expression, because she smiled and let out an empty chuckle.

"Hi," Wallace greeted lamely, unsure of how else to react. Of course, he was happy to see her. But she had come off as distant and perhaps a bit wary the last time they spoke on the Battle Pyramid, which, in retrospect, wasn't too surprising. It had only been six months since they split up after all.

"Hello," Winona replied in an equally awkward manner. She then dove straight to the point, "I wanted to let you know that I'm leaving the Indigo Plateau to return to Fortree City."

"You don't need my permission. Gym leaders are free to leave as they please; many already have," Wallace reminded her gently. "It's me who has to stay."

"The interviews?"

"Unfortunately."

"How are they going?"

"I don't like them much," Wallace admitted. "They're surprisingly... emotional."

"All of them?"

"Nearly."

"Have you considered that the Rocket employees were perhaps trained to illicit sympathy if they were ever arrested?"

"I suppose that's a possibility," Wallace conceded, "but if that's the case, then Team Rocket is full of many good actors. I'm more inclined to believe that Team Rocket is an organization of young people who had nowhere else to turn."

"Well, you've always been compassionate." Wallace looked at her strangely, and she turned her head away anxiously. "Anyway, I was suppose I just wanted to say 'goodbye.' It would have felt odd if I just... well, goodbye."

She stiffly turned around and began walking away, and Wallace felt compelled to call out to her:

"Happy Valentine's Day."

She stopped, and faced him again. Initially, she seemed surprised, but it soon wore into another smile.

"You too."

**_February 14th, 2002. Afternoon. Pallet Town._**

Every year on Valentine's Day, Delia always brought Professor Oak her famous heart-shaped cookies as thanks for their many years of friendship. Although this particular season had been rough on both of them, she would hold true to the tradition.

Yet, no one answered the door when she came knocking. At first, this confused her—then she remembered Tracey was no longer present as the professor's much-needed aide, so she let herself in.

"Professor?" she called out, receiving no response. The silence worried her, and she hurried up the stairs, continuing to call for him. She was on the edge of growing frantic, until she happened upon a cracked door. Peering inside, she saw the professor was asleep at a desk. Relieved, she nudged the door open and entered.

She quickly realized she was actually in Gary Oak's bedroom, which prompted her to wonder why the professor would possibly be in there. Then she looked over Oak's sleeping shoulder, and she found the answer to her question: sprawled out on the desk were several photos of a young Gary Oak and his late parents, Melissa and Jon. He was using a photo album as a pillow.

Frowning, Delia set the plate of cookies on the corner of the desk and snatched the comforter off Gary's bed, wrapping it around his grandfather's shoulders.

**_February 14th, 2002. Early Evening. Petalburg City._**

Caroline could smell something burning the moment she stepped into her home with Max at her side, and she inwardly panicked, thinking she had accidentally left on the stove from that afternoon. There was a thick cloud of smoke in the kitchen, but before she had the chance to run in and amend the situation, Norman emerged from the fray, appearing slightly burnt himself.

"Hi dear," he coughed. "I wanted to surprise you with dinner for Valentine's Day, but it's not going well..."

"Dad!" Max yelped with glee, running to hug him. "You're back!"

He wrapped an arm around his son and looked up at his wife with a sheepish grin, and Caroline could only start laughing.

**_February 14th, 2002. Early Evening. Twinleaf Town._**

Palmer ran his fingers through his messy hair one last time before ringing the doorbell. He stood up straighter immediately afterward and held the bouquet of flowers he'd bought on his way there closer to his chest.

He heard Johanna call from inside, and after a brief delay, she answered the door.

"Palmer," she regarded, surprised. She suddenly became a little self-conscious, realizing he was dressed nicely, while she was wearing the clothes she'd cleaned the house in earlier that day. "I didn't know you had returned to Twinleaf."

"I just got in," Palmer explained shortly. He then held out the bouquet. "And I brought you flowers."

She laughed, accepting them.

"Well," she began with a half-smile, swinging the door wide open, "come in."

**_February 14th, 2002. Early Evening. Cerulean City._**

"You look beautiful~" Daisy cooed, helping Lily with the last touch of her make-up. "I'm really glad you and Violet are going out tonight. It's good for both of you."

"Thanks sis." Lily smiled, rising to her feet. Violet had already left, and now Lily was in wait for her date to come pick her up. It turned out he had perfect timing, because it was just then that the doorbell rang, and Lily let out a giggle—the first in a long while—before heading for the door.

"Good to see your sisters are doing better," Tracey commented, approaching Daisy from behind.

"Yeah," Daisy agreed with a smile. "I actually I am really glad they are going to be gone tonight, though."

Tracey's expression contorted with confusion.

"Why?"

Daisy slowly turned to face him with a coy smile.

"'Cause now _we_ are alone."

**_February 14th, 2002. Early Evening. Striaton City._**

Chili drummed his fingers against the tabletop, bored and wishing he were elsewhere. His bedroom, specifically. His gaming system had served as an escape from reality for the past several months; it kept his mind busy, so his thoughts wouldn't wander into darker, more melancholic places. Doing nothing—waiting—was a dangerous activity.

Yet, Cress began insisting several weeks ago that they started eating together again. The older triplet wanted to introduce some routine back into their lives, bit by bit, so they wouldn't spend their days milling around their restaurant/gym/home in a funk. The ultimate goal was a grand reopening of the restaurant in early March.

Chili couldn't blame him for wanting to move on. Moving on meant hurting less. Yet, Chili also couldn't help but feel that moving on meant forgetting, and he didn't want to forget.

"Ta-da! Your favorite!" Chili snapped out of his daze as Cress gracefully set a plate of red velvet donuts at the center of the table. Each had been frosted white and had perfect, red lettering spelling out, 'Happy V-Day!' The tittle of the exclamation mark was shaped like a heart. For a couple seconds, Chili stared at the plate. Then, his lips spread into a now-rare grin.

"_No way,_" Chili appalled. "How long did you spend on this?

Cress smirked, adjusting his bow tie.

"Several hours," he answered. Both he and Chili knew making desserts was not Cress's forte; the honor had always belonged to Chili. "I tried one myself, though, and I think you'll find it's the best you've ever tasted."

Chili let out a chuckle and reached for one.

"Well, I'll be the judge of that."

**_February 14th, 2002. Early Evening. Snowpoint City._**

"So, you have any plans tonight?" Conway asked, watching Candice as she locked up her classroom.

"You mean a date or something?" Candice stuffed her keys into her back pocket. "No. I haven't dated since Christmas. I'll probably go home, grade some papers, pop in a rom com, eat some ice cream... you know, try to take it easy for once."

"Ah." Conway touched the edge of his glasses. "Well, in the case, give me your stack."

Candice tilted her head, confused by what he meant. Then she realized he was referring to the pile of papers in her arms. She and Conway, ever since he had started helping out at the academy, had split the workload every evening.

"Why?"

"Consider it a Valentine's Day courtesy," Conway replied flippantly, taking the stack from her. "I wouldn't be a very good teacher's assistant if I didn't give my boss the chance to relax now and then."

Candice blinked, but smiled.

"Thanks, Conway."

**_February 14th, 2002. Early Evening. Unknown Location._**

"Jessie?" James nervously poked his head into her room. "Jessie, I brought you chocolates."

James had done this every year since he and Jessie first met. Their first Valentine's Day together, she threw a hissy fit over the fact that she was 'alone' on the romantic holiday and blamed her involvement in Team Rocket as the reason she never had a date. Because he sympathized with the feeling of being alone—and because her rage terrified him—he decided to buy her a box of chocolates, and he never stopped after that.

"Thank Arceus," Jessie scoffed, snatching the package out of his hands as soon as he entered, "I need something sweet right now."

She tore open the box, plucked out a rose-shaped, cherry-filled piece, and popped it into her mouth.

"Is something wrong?" James asked. Jessie typically didn't accept the chocolate without a fight; she usually complained that James was trying to make her fat, but of course she'd eat the whole box anyway, because he knew she secretly loved it.

His partner suddenly looked uncharacteristically depressed.

"You know those rumors about Archer?" she asked. "That he committed suicide? Shot himself in the head?"

James nodded, feeling a chill run up his spine. Everyone had heard the rumor. Upper management hadn't confirmed, but they spoke of him reverently, like he was a martyr. This prompted questions of whether he was killed in action by a G-Men agent, but they denied this. That was when the rumor that he killed himself to protect the classified information he knew from falling into the G-Men's hands started going around.

"Well, I overhead Dr. Zager talking about it today," Jessie continued, "and it's true. He said that was true mark of a loyal Team Rocket member. Someone who would be willing to die for the organization."

James realized this statement must have been particularly disturbing to Jessie, not only because her mother had died because of her relentless pursuit of Mew for the glory of Team Rocket, but also because she—both she and him, really—had joined so they could live.

**_February 14th, 2002. Evening. Somewhere in Sinnoh._**

"I noticed you spent much of the day with Misty, Ash," Cilan commented as the boy sat next to him, blowing the steam off his cup of water. It had gotten to the point where water had to be boiled and consumed warm, lest it freeze.

"Well, yeah!" Ash grinned. "She's my friend."

"Of course," Cilan agreed, "but so am I and Iris."

Ash lowered his cup.

"Am I making you guys feel left out or something?" He suddenly seemed very concerned. "'Cause that's the last thing I wanna do!"

"Oh no," Cilan assured him. "I didn't mean to give you that impression. You've always been a good friend to me and everyone else—but that's not my point. Lately, however, it seems you've been spending a lot of time with Misty in particular. Of course, it's all perfectly natural."

"Natural?" Ash quickly got the sense Cilan was going to slide into one of his long-winded, intelligent explanations that would leave him more confused than enlightened.

"Yes, natural," Cilan persisted. "There comes a time in everyone's life when you begin to form special attachments to certain people—or rather, a certain person. You become attracted to them, begin to feel shy around them, and this the genesis of love."

Cilan realized Ash was now staring at him as though he'd grown a second head, and he concluded he, of course, needed to expand his explanation.

"You see, Ash," Cilan continued, carefully choosing his words, "there are four different types of love. There's _storge_, the familial type of love; it's the way I love my brothers, or the way you love your own mother. Then there's _philia_, which is the love between good friends—the love between Kenny and Barry, or Zoey and Dawn for example. Third is _ágape_, which is a more spiritual, unconditional type of love—the love of a merciful God. And lastly..." Cilan paused. "There's _éros_. It's the romantic kind of love. It's the love May and Drew feel for each other, and it's the love Misty feels toward you... and I think you might reciprocate."

"... What?"

Cilan let out a long sigh.

"Let me put it in simpler terms," the connoisseur began. "I think you feel differently toward Misty than you do, for example, May or Dawn or Iris. You care about all four, but it's different with Misty. Is that true?"

Ash scratched at his temple and looked away, suddenly becoming embarrassed. Now what Cilan was saying was making sense—and not just for comprehension, but for relatability, too.

"Uh... yeah, I guess so," he said. He couldn't understand why he was getting so flustered; Cilan was his friend, and they were able to talk about many things Ash didn't completely understand without him becoming nervous. "Why are you bringing this up, though?"

"I'm merely just trying to help you," Cilan answered. "If you hold special feelings for Misty, you should tell her—when you're ready, of course."

"The _éros_ kind of love?" Ash asked, and Cilan nodded. Ash paused to look away, attempting to conceal his blush. "Um... yeah, I can remember that."

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_A/N: A full chapter will be up on Friday. Thanks for the support thus far!_

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	23. XX: In Which Barry Confesses Honestly

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Chapter XX: In Which Barry Confesses Honestly

.

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**_February 27th, 2002. Late Evening. Somewhere in Sinnoh._**

The snow was light at first—an ethereal descent of ghostly white flakes with beautifully complex designs that would motivate even the most uninspired artist to paint. It produced a deceptively calming effect, but Iris knew better. She had implored that they stop for the evening, but she was outnumbered. Nearly everyone wanted to press forward. Although the weather wasn't pleasant per se, it was bearable, and Silver was insistent that they were nearing the location for the Sinnoh base.

Iris wished more than ever that they had listened to her now.

As they ascended further up the mountain, wind speeds began to pick up and temperatures began to drop. The even-paced snowfall turned into a storm. Iris pulled her scarf up to cover her nose, but the grains of ice continued to collect on her eyelashes and blur her vision. That was the worst part of it: While the cold was a physical reminder of the distant memory, it was when she couldn't see that she began to have vivid recollections of events long past.

As she plowed forward, her companions seemed to slowly fade away—and she was alone. The peak of the mountain, her beacon, disappeared. Her world shifted into a barren black and white wasteland. She didn't know whether she was moving toward something; she could only see darkness ahead, but the snow was pushing against her, attempting to force her back, which meant there had to be something there, right?

Then the gigantic, yellowish eyes opened before her, but this was not a welcomed hallucination. Iris stopped, terrified to move any further. The hidden beast with the glowing eyes then barred its pearly, jagged teeth and emitted a low growl.

Iris immediately began screaming and clawing at her face, trying to tear the sight away.

"_Calā jānā, calā jānā_!" Her frantic cries did not go unheard; although she had forgotten the presence of her companions, they had not forgotten her.

"Iris!" Ash called, and several others followed suit. She couldn't seem to hear their shouts, and she dropped to her knees, burying her face in her hands and trying to shake away the burning image of those awful yellow eyes. Only when the arms of Trip and Misty came to rescue did she seem to regain some sense of herself.

"Iris, are you all right?" Trip asked as he and Misty pulled her out of the snow.

"Is she OK?" Iris could hear Leaf call from ahead.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," the Dragon-type trainer mumbled weakly. Axew, who had been hiding in her hair to avoid the brunt of the poor weather, reappeared and jumped into her arms, attempting to offer his trainer some comfort.

"She's not hurt or anything," Misty conveyed to the others after checking. Paul didn't seem satisfied, however, and he turned and let out one of his Pokémon.

"Electivire, use Protect!"

The massive Electric-type pressed its palms together for a moment, gathering up energy, and then held them straight out. A greenish barrier began to form, and it soon arced above the pack of trainers' heads until it created an entire dome. Everything came to a standstill; they were cut off from the storm outside.

Kenny held his breath; he had never seen anything quite like it. Several of the other trainers seemed just as awestruck until Paul spoke up.

"Quit gawking," he spat. "Electivire can only maintain it for maybe five minutes. We have that time to put together a plan."

"A plan?" Ritchie inquired.

"Iris just had a panic attack that was triggered by the storm," Paul said bluntly. "We need a plan."

"He's right," Leaf agreed as she and the others gathered more closely together. "Let's hear your ideas."

"We could turn around and start heading back down," Dawn suggested.

"OK, that's one option." Leaf held up a finger.

"No, that's not an option," Silver rejected.

"And why not?" Leaf retorted.

"Because this—" Silver pointed up at the storm raging outside. "—is not going to get better. Could we head further back down where the weather is less turbulent and find shelter? Sure. But as long as my father still has Moltres, the weather heading up is going to continue getting worse. Right now is the best it's going to be. It's bad, but we can get through it. If we wait longer, that might not be true anymore."

Leaf stared for a moment, her lips tightening.

"All right. I see your point," she conceded, "but we have to get somewhere to stop for the night. Somewhere safe. It's late, and we're tired."

"How far are we willing to go?" Zoey asked.

"How far are you asking?" Leaf responded.

"Well..." Zoey began slowly, "... I know this route, because I've traveled it before. Snowpoint City isn't far from here. Maybe just five or six miles. I know that seems like a lot in this weather, but if we're willing to push traveling further into the night, we could be there before 2 a.m. Maybe even before 1 a.m."

"Yeah, and what we are we gonna do?" Drew scoffed. "Stay in the Pokémon Center there? We can't do that yet."

"Snowpoint City is my hometown," Zoey persisted. "One of my very best friends in the world lives there. Candice, the Snowpoint City Gym Leader, would be more than willing to give us a place to stay, after some explanation."

"Can we trust her?" Leaf asked, and several seemed surprised that she would even give the proposition consideration. For months, Leaf had been very uptight about making sure the knowledge they were alive remained exclusive, and such a mindset had rubbed off on nearly everyone else.

"Unquestionably," Zoey replied firmly.

"It's not a bad idea actually," Silver added. "Snowpoint City is very close to the Sinnoh base. Moreover, if your friend is willing to house us for a couple of days, we could use that time to recuperate and put together a plan to take down the Sinnoh base."

"I have to admit," Gary breathed, glancing at Leaf. "It sounds like a win-win situation."

"Well, you don't need to convince me," Leaf said. "I'm fine with it." She flicked her head over to where Iris was. Misty and Trip were still by her side, and Cilan had joined them, helping her ease back into a more peaceful state of mind. Her head perked up as the others glanced toward her. "It's up to Iris whether she can continue."

"U-Um..." Iris didn't like the decision being pushed to her. She didn't want to say no—doing so, she feared, would make her look childish and would drudge up resentment against her—but to say yes would suggest she was OK again, which she wasn't.

"Hey," Ash began as he approached her and bent down to meet her at her level. "It's cool either way. If you do wanna keep going but you're still worried, Cilan and I could stay with ya the entire time. You could stay between us and hold onto our arms. That way, maybe you won't get so nervous and feel scared."

It was an amazingly perceptive and mature response, which Iris would not have expected from Ash. She glanced up at Cilan, who gave her a reassuring smile and nodded. She then looked back at Ash.

"OK," she agreed, sounding a little more confident.

Electivire's protective barrier cracked, and a cold gust of wind whistled through.

**_February 27th, 2002. Late Evening. Indigo Plateau._**

Lance hardly cast so much as a glance when the door to his office creaked open and Cynthia slipped inside. She was dressed in her black nightgown, though the color did little to slim down her figure. She was silent as she approached his desk, and Lance paid her no heed as he flicked through another page of an interview he'd transcribed.

"Lance, it's late," she finally began. "Go to sleep."

"I suppose I could offer you the same advice," Lance responded calmly. "What are you doing up?"

"I'm pregnant. I don't always get to control my sleep schedule," she answered. "I saw that your light was on and came in."

Lance stared at her for a long moment, turning a pencil over in his fingers.

"Well," he started, "I was planning on leaving in a few minutes away."

"OK. Good," Cynthia replied tacitly. She then headed back for the door, but as soon as her hand touched the frame, Lance spoke up again.

"Chris was asking for Solidad again today."

She stopped.

"Solidad said-"

"-I know what Solidad said," Lance cut her off. "And while I may not completely understand her stance, I am trying to respect it. But, as it stands, the G-Men have more than a hundred Team Rocket members in custody, yet not one of them has ever spoken to, much less seen Giovanni. Chris on the other hand is a close partner with him. Tell me, who is more likely to know something?"

"We already know Chris doesn't know anything. We're just getting desperate."

"You're right. We are desperate," Lance said with a nod. "But I would rather be desperate for information than satisfied with nothing. Maybe Chris won't talk to us, but perhaps he'd be more frank with Solidad."

"Why don't you talk to Solidad about it then?"

"Solidad doesn't like me very much."

"Lance, does that really surprise you?" Cynthia sighed, turning to face him again.

"No. Most people who know me don't," Lance admitted. "It's a consequence of the way I choose to run this organization, and I accept that. It does have its drawbacks, though."

Cynthia frowned and pushed her hand through her hair.

"Fine. I'll ask her," she gave in.

"When?"

"In the morning," Cynthia answered, exasperated. "So, there's nothing you can do right now. Go to sleep."

She promptly left after that, and Lance let out a frustrated breath as he flicked off the lamp on his desk.

**_February 28th, 2002. Middle of the night. Snowpoint City._**

Zoey went into the city alone upon Leaf's prompting. The rest of the group would wait on the outskirts as she ventured to Candice's home to (hopefully) set up some accommodations. If they all went and Candice was unwilling, Leaf didn't want the pack of sixteen to be stranded in an urban area. Zoey supposed she could understand that, but she still tried to reassure her that there was no way Candice would reject them.

When she found herself on the doorstep, however, she was suddenly overcome with a pervading sense of anxiety and uncertainty. It had been a little more than two months since her alleged death. She wasn't sure how Candice responded to the news, and she wasn't sure how the Snowpoint Gym Leader would react when she learned it was all a lie.

Nevertheless, she shook off her self-doubt and raised her hand and knocked on the door—loudly, because at this hour, Candice would certainly be asleep. The redhead then hastily pushed her hands back into her pockets, shivering as she waited. After a few minutes, Zoey knocked again.

This time, she could hear footsteps on the other side, and she held her breath as the door slowly opened.

The color drained from Candice's face as soon as she saw her, and for a moment, they both found themselves at a loss for words; Candice because she wasn't entirely sure of what she was seeing; Zoey because she wasn't sure how one would go about this type of conversation.

Finally, Zoey let on a crooked smile and uttered a simple, "Hi."

Candice raised her hand and slapped her across the face.

Zoey staggered back and tenderly touched the area that had been hit. No blood had been drawn, but the impacted area burned, and Zoey looked back at her friend, utterly flabbergasted.

"It is you!" Candice tearfully cried out before tackling her with a hug. Zoey briefly had her breath knocked out of her as Candice wound her arms tightly around her, almost literally squeezing the air out of her.

"I have a lot of things to tell you," Zoey chuckled, her fingers curling into the fabric on the back of Candice's sweater. She could feel her friend's hot tears wetting her jacket as she buried her face deep into her shoulder.

"Yeah, you better have a lot of things to tell me!" she sniffled.

**_February 28th, 2002. Early Morning. Pewter City._**

Solidad unhappily stirred when her cell phone rang and, without opening her eyes or contorting her body, she reached out and made a grab for the device on her bedside table. She missed a couple of times, but her hand finally managed to locate it and bring it to her ear.

"Hello, this is Solidad speaking," she said, still half-asleep.

"_Solidad, this is Cynthia. I'm sorry, did I wake you_?"

"No," Solidad lied, yawning. "Is there something you need?"

"_Yes_..." Cynthia said the word slowly. "_You see, Chris_—" Solidad tensed up at the mere mention of the name. "—_has been asking to speak to you for a while now_."

"He wants to speak to me?"

"_Yes_," Cynthia affirmed. "_Out of respect you, we've rejected his requests thus far, but..._"

"Lance wants me to see if there's anything he'd tell me that he wouldn't tell him," Solidad finished.

"_You know I wouldn't ask unless we were at a dead end_."

"I do." Solidad pressed her hand to her forehead and sighed. "All right. I'll do it. I have some errands to run today, but I'll be down to the Indigo Plateau tonight."

"_Thank you, Solidad. We really do appreciate it_."

"It's not a problem," the coordinator sighed. "I'll talk to you later."

She hung up and tossed the phone back onto the table before burying her face back into her pillow.

**_February 28th, 2002. Morning. Snowpoint City._**

Paul's mind was in a haze when he first woke. By the time the group made it to Candice's home late last night—or rather, earlier that morning—everyone was plain exhausted and cold, so the heated home was a welcomed luxury. Paul wasn't sure whether Candice ever received her full and deserved explanation since nearly everyone passed out within a couple of minutes of arrival, but it wasn't his responsibility, so he wasn't going to worry.

The Veilstone trainer lolled his head to the side and found with mild surprise that Dawn and her worn sleeping bag were situated beside him. He didn't remember such a set-up occurring last night. Then again, he couldn't remember much of last night anyway. He watched her for a long moment—the even rise and fall of her chest, the twitch of her fingers, the shift of her head that caused her bangs to fall into her eyes—and then he quickly looked away with a sharp breath. He kicked the top of his own sleeping bag off him and sat up, rubbing his eyes.

He then staggered over to the window and opened it up. Gripping the sill, he inhaled deeply and attempted to clear his mind.

"She is pretty, isn't she?"

Paul turned to see Kenny approaching with a wary gaze. Paul frowned.

"You do realize a girl can have more than one person attracted to her at once, right?"

Kenny appeared surprised he'd said that; Paul, himself, was surprised he'd said it, though he didn't let it show.

"Of course I do," Kenny responded after recovering. "That's the thing, though: I'm sure there are a lot of people who find Dawn attractive, which is fine. But it worries me 'cause I care about her a lot."

"Yeah, I'm sure," Paul grumbled, and for a moment, he was going to leave it at that. It was too early for a confrontation, and he would have rather not delved into the subject any further. He had already inadvertently admitted he was attracted to Dawn, and that was too much.

Yet, as his tired mind caught up with reality, the implication of Kenny's statement became clearer, and the revelation lit a fire under him. Suddenly, Paul felt the frustration he'd kept buried within him for the past couple of weeks boil and bubble up to the surface; it was then that he felt compelled to speak.

"But who are you to suggest that I don't care?" he started again after a long delay.

Kenny was taken aback by the hostile tone. Paul had left the conversation up on a coat hanger (as he usually did), never to be touched unless someone implored he come outside. Kenny had not planned to bait him any further; he was willing to leave the conversation on that hanger, unfinished—which was why he was so surprised that Paul had turned back around, grabbed the coat, and run outside again.

"I get it," Paul continued. "You don't like me. Not only do you not like me because you see me as competition, you also don't like me because I rub you the wrong way. That's what I do. I leave bad impressions on people and don't do anything to fix it. Still, it's unfair to suggest I don't care when in fact I threw myself in front of a mass of poisonous stingers and proceeded to have the second worst day of my life, primarily because I had to relive the worst one all over again."

"I'd do the same for her," Kenny fought back. "I practically did. The first time Mewtwo attacked us-"

"-You don't need to prove yourself to me," Paul cut in. "This isn't a competition."

"You're the one who keeps saying that word."

"You're the one who came looking for a fight; you're just surprised because I'm actually giving you one."

"Fine," Kenny conceded, "but if that's the case, then you're admitting to playing into this idea of a 'competition,' too."

"_There is no competition_."

Kenny took a step back, glaring, and Paul pinched the bridge of his nose, taking a moment to collect himself and calm down. He didn't like losing control of his emotions; it was when he was at his most vulnerable, most weak.

"You are wasting your time fighting me," he went on after a moment. "You and I can't decide who or what is better for Dawn. Dawn has to decide that herself. It doesn't matter much, though, when you look at the signs."

"The signs?"

"It's simple: You are one of her best friends. I am the rival to another of her best friends. On paper, it's pretty clear who will get picked, and it's not me. So jump off."

Paul had expected saying this would make him feel better, that getting all this pent-up frustration off his chest would be a cathartic release. He was disappointed—perhaps even angry—that it only succeeded in making him feel worse.

He stuffed his hands into the jacket he'd slept in and stalked toward the door. Opening it, he was briefly surprised to see Zoey standing there with wide, though tired eyes. He glowered at her before storming past, and Zoey cast him a curious glance before looking back at Kenny.

* * *

There were six or so others awake downstairs, including Candice. A few appeared as though they hadn't slept through the night, and Paul guessed it was possible they had spent those restless hours talking to the Snowpoint Gym Leader.

"Hey!" Ash greeted with a grin as Paul fell back next to him on the sofa. The mauve-haired trainer gave a curt nod of acknowledgement but said nothing.

"How did you sleep last night?" Leaf asked. Paul cast her a wary glance, unsure of whether he detected sarcasm in her voice or not.

"Is this a trap?"

"No; it's a simple question." She craned an eyebrow. "You don't have to go on the defensive for everything."

"Right... sorry..." he grumbled. "Fine. I slept fine."

"That's good," Candice chimed in with a glowing smile. "I'm really glad you guys could get comfortable here, especially after being out for two months. Seriously, I could not have lasted as long."

"I'm guessing you're up to date on everything?"

"Pretty much, yup!" she cheerfully affirmed. Her happy-go-lucky demeanor had quickly snapped back into place after last night, and it was a pleasant change.

Drew suddenly entered the room with a rather disheveled look about him, drawing in nearly everyone's attention. He stopped and looked at them suspiciously, cocking an eyebrow.

"Did I miss a memo or something?" he asked. Even before 9 a.m., his wit was still as sharp as ever. "Was there an intervention scheduled for me, because I swear I'm not an alcoholic. What are you all looking at?"

"It's just that your hair is a mess," Misty answered with a laugh, "and since you've always been our resident pretty boy, it's a tad bit unusual."

Drew frowned and brushed a hand through his messy locks.

"Yeah, well, last night was the first time I've slept with a pillow in months. Plus, I didn't have a nice coat of ice to lock in my hairstyle," he replied. "Still, I'm sorry I let you all down. I will return upstairs and fix my appearance forthwith."

His response elicited a few chuckles, and he quickly disappeared back up the stairs.

"You know, he is endearing in his own way," Misty said after he left. "At first, I couldn't understand why May was interested in him, but after a couple of months, I can see it."

"He and... who?" Candice asked.

"May," Zoey jumped in with an answer as she came down the direction Drew had left. She and Paul exchanged a terse glance, but she quickly moved on. "She's the girl with the short, light brown hair and blue eyes."

"Oh~" Candice coyly smiled. "Camp love?"

"Nah, they've been Erin for a long time now," Ash said.

Everyone stared, and Ash tilted his head, confused. He wondered if he had said something wrong or inappropriate—but that wasn't possible, he reasoned. Cilan never would have led him astray; the connoisseur considered himself a gentleman.

"They've been _what_?" Paul finally asked.

"Cilan explained it to me," Ash continued. "And I was thinkin' about it and yeah... they've had the Erin kind of love for a while."

"Since when did 'love' become a part of your vocabulary? And for that matter, who is Erin?" Paul persisted.

"It's-"

"-No, wait, never mind," Paul sighed with a wave his hand. "Don't bother. I really don't want to hear it."

Ash pushed his bottom lip out, pouting, and Gary let out a chuckle.

"Still, props to Cilan for giving Ash some demented understanding of relationships that puberty couldn't," the researcher added.

"Oh!" Candice's cry quickly brought in the gazes of her companions, and she blushed, a little flustered. "Sorry. Quick subject change, but I just remembered something: There's someone who's been helping me at the academy for the past month or so, and he'll be over this morning. It shouldn't be a problem, though. If you guys just hang out upstairs and don't make a bunch of noise for twenty minutes or so, he won't suspect a thing."

"Who is this person?" Zoey asked curiously.

"His name's Conway Regan."

"_Conway_?" Ash appalled.

"What's Conway doing here?" Paul added.

"You guys know him?" Candice seemed surprised.

"Paul and I actually had a double battle against him and Dawn in the Hearthrome City Tag Battles," Ash answered. "And he was later one of my opponents in the Lily of the Valley Conference."

"Huh, I guess that makes sense then," Candice said. "You know, gyms are still technically closed. League trainers literally don't have anything to do, except maybe try out contests. I ran into Conway, and he seemed like a pretty knowledgeable guy, so I asked if he wanted to help me teach at the academy."

"If that's the case, then there's no reason to bother."

Gary gave Leaf the strangest look after she said this.

"Now this is just odd," he began. "When did you become so lax about all of this? Last month, you probably would've declared staying upstairs wasn't good enough and demanded that an underground shelter be built out in the snow."

Leaf shrugged.

"It's just not as important anymore," she replied frankly. "We're here. We've made it. In a couple of days, it won't matter whether people know we're alive or not, because we'll have rescued Moltres and Mewtwo and stopped Giovanni. The whole purpose of this conspiracy was to keep Giovanni from sending Mewtwo after you again. Once we have Mewtwo, that'll no longer be a problem."

As if by cue, the doorbell rang.

"I guess he's here a little earlier than I expected," Candice said as she stood and smoothed down her shirt. "Just hang tight guys. I'll try to break it to him nicely."

As the gym leader headed out, Dawn joined the group. Zoey patted an empty place next to her on the couch as an invitation, which Dawn was glad to take. Paul watched the blunette for a short while before turning his head and looking out the window.

"Good morning, Miss Berlitz," Zoey teased. "Sleep well? You didn't hear any sort of ruckus this morning did you?"

Paul snapped his attention back to Zoey, glaring at her. She ignored him, however.

Dawn furrowed her eyebrows.

"No..." she replied. "I was out like a light last night. I only just came around maybe two minutes ago."

Zoey then gave Paul a pointed look, and he blinked, suddenly confused. He didn't understand: Was she trying to help him? The Veilstone trainer didn't have much time to think on it, as Candice re-entered the room with Conway in tow.

"I don't understand what you're-" Conway stopped in the middle of his sentence when he saw the several other trainers in the room, and he dramatically paled. Dawn raised her eyebrows and glanced at Zoey before looking back at Conway; she hadn't heard the explanation of why he would be there earlier, but she decided to go along with it, and she let on a crooked smile.

"Hi Conway," she greeted nervously.

He hit the ground with a 'thud.'

* * *

By the end of the hour, everyone was awake and downstairs for the obligatory unveiling of how and why the fourteen trainers were not actually dead. Conway was seated on the couch, and he had an ice pack pressed to his head. His coloring had returned to normal, and though he remained a little shaken, he was again speaking like the Conway Ash and several others had always known.

"So there's been a Team Rocket base here... all this time?" Conway asked.

"According to Silver, yeah," Ash answered.

"Where is it, exactly?"

"Exactly... I don't know." Ash was stumped.

"Ya see, we've never been there," Barry picked up. "It was always Silver who knew. We're just kind of following his lead."

"It's about two miles away from here," Silver mumbled as a response.

"If it's so close to the city, how comes no one has ever found it before?" Conway asked.

"You know, I've wondered that myself," Zoey added. "I grew up here. There have never been any signs of Rockets being here."

"It's pretty cleverly hidden," Silver explained. "Or maybe the better word would be 'disguised.' The Sinnoh base is connected to the Command Center for the Ampharos Train. Team Rocket owns it, and they use it to transfer agents in and out of the area."

"_Excuse me_?" Zoey appalled.

"They _own_ it?" Dawn seemed just as surprised, but she quickly shook her head in denial. "No, that's impossible. I was once on that train going down to Lake Acuity with Ash and Brock. Some Team Rocket members tried to steal the Ampharos then, and the crew members were just about the nicest people."

"Well a) those Rockets are idiots; b) the crew members probably are genuinely good people," Silver replied frankly. "There are a lot of people who work for Team Rocket without ever knowing; there are even more who get sucked into joining without ever wanting to."

"You know, it would actually make some sense if you consider the timeline," Conway mused.

"The timeline?" Ritchie inquired.

"The Ampharos Train is closed right now," he answered. "If I recall correctly, it closed the day after the G-Men took down the Hoenn base. Team Rocket administration is probably on high alert now, and they wouldn't want to risk anyone finding the Sinnoh base through the Ampharos Train's Command Center—if it's true that they own it."

Leaf's stomach clinched with horror, and she could immediately feel Silver's suspicious and paranoid gaze on her. Several other trainers seemed just as surprised.

"Wait, the G-Men got the Hoenn base?" Misty asked.

"Oh yeah," Candice began apologetically. "Sorry, it kinda didn't connect in my head that you guys probably hadn't heard about that. The G-Men totally gutted out a Team Rocket base in Shroomish Forest—shut down operations and made a lot of arrests and stuff. They accomplished it with the help of gym leaders from all over the nation, and Cynthia actually invited me to come, but I turned her down 'cause I was too depressed and I didn't want to leave work at the academy."

"How did they find it?" Silver asked.

"Beats me." Candice shrugged. "Cynthia never said."

Leaf let out a shaky breath as she began searching for a possible excuse. If Silver caught onto the fact that she had tipped off Lance and the G-Men about the location of the Hoenn base through Ursula, then he would certainly leave—and she still needed him. Maybe they could find the Sinnoh base on their own; that wasn't her main concern. They needed him because without his special knowledge of what went on inside the base, they'd be heading in blind, and even with the Chosen One on their side, it would be a suicide mission.

"If I had to make a logical guess, it was likely through that person the G-Men arrested at the beginning of the month," Conway added.

It was reasonable, and Leaf immediately latched onto it with a silent prayer of thanks that this Conway had stumbled into their little circle.

"That's right!" Leaf agreed. She pulled her bag onto her lap and rummaged through it before pulling out the graying newspaper she had purchased nearly a month earlier. "I remember reading about that."

"Where did you get that?" Trip asked.

"Olivine City," Leaf answered smoothly. "When I first went into town to purchase those tickets to Hoenn, I noticed the headlines and bought a copy. The G-Men arrested a man named Chris Rogers in connection with Team Rocket and brought him in for questioning. That's probably how they found out."

Drew had been drinking a glass of water as Leaf said this, but as soon as she mentioned the name, he choked.

"Hey, you all right, man?" Kenny asked, slapping him on the back.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Drew rose a shaking hand to wipe his mouth. May frowned, watching him with concern; he certainly didn't look fine. In fact, he looked downright ill, and this alarmed her. The Petalburg trainer glanced at Leaf.

"Could I see that paper please?" she asked politely. Drew weakly lifted his head as he watched Leaf willfully hand the publication over to her, and he knew it was over. Although he didn't have the paper in his hands, he could see the front page photo as well as she could. Even for someone as inattentive as May, to anyone who cared enough to make a connection, the resemblance was obvious.

She did an inconspicuous double-take between him and the photo. Through her careful gaze, he could see the wheels in her mind begin to turn.

"May, what's the matter?" Cilan asked after a breath of silence.

"Oh!" May jumped back into reality, and she quickly folded the newspaper in half, concealing the photo. Drew appeared surprised, and he quickly realized she was protecting him; she wasn't going to let him be forced to answer questions in front of everyone. "Nothing. It's just really interesting, that's all. I'm glad the G-Men managed to find the Hoenn base."

"Yeah," Leaf agreed with a quick nod. "Not as incompetent as you think, eh Silver?"

Silver seemed to buy it, but he still scoffed and looked away. Leaf sighed, partially relieved.

"Well, I need to get some sleep," she continued. "We should probably start planning how we're going to go about rescuing Moltres and Mewtwo tonight."

As she left the group, May returned her attention to Drew, but he looked away. He couldn't make eye contact.

**_February 28th, 2002. Afternoon. Village of Dragons._**

"Whoa, look at that," James awed as they passed by a large, sleeping Dragon-type in the quaint village. He had never seen such a Pokémon before. It had three heads, black and green fur, and purplish scales that ran down its belly and bloomed on its head.

"Dat's a shiny Hydreigon," Meowth said eagerly. "Jus' image what da Boss would think if we brought 'em back."

"Keep your eyes to yourselves, boys," Jessie admonished. "We're here for one reason and one reason only: to get information."

Jessie and James had ditched their Team Rocket uniforms for warmer, winter apparel that had a nomadic feel to it. Meowth was dressed similarly, decidedly disguising himself as a human. Although their appearance allowed them to seamlessly blend in with the fashion of the village, many of its residents were still sending the trio wary glances. Admittedly, this wasn't what Jessie had expected. She had always heard of the Village of Dragons as a warm, welcoming place, yet it had apparently turned cold along with the weather. Not one person had offered so little as a 'hello.'

"Excuse me," Jessie called out to one young male. He stopped. "We're looking to speak with the Village Elder."

He seemed suspicious.

"You're not from around here, are you?" he asked.

"No," James responded tacitly. "We are but simple travelers, exploring the world, seeking higher knowledge of great and mysterious Pokémon."

"We're not welcome to strangers right now," the young man dismissed.

Jessie's hot temper quickly flared.

"Listen here-" she began angrily.

"-That's enough, Alan." An aging woman suddenly appeared outside one of the small houses, and she approached the young man. "It is rash to pass judgement before getting to know someone. You know that."

Alan backed down, and he suddenly seemed ashamed.

"Yes, Elder," he mumbled apologetically. The Elder smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

"Go on your way," she told him before turning to the trio. "I ask for your forgiveness. We are very tight-knit community, and we recently lost one of our own. It has impacted the people here deeply, and as result, many have become less trusting."

"Oh, that's all right," James responded cheerfully, allowing Jessie a moment to calm down.

"Well, if you're travelers, I presume you're tired," the Elder went on. "Please, come inside."

Jessie, James, and Meowth all exchanged tentative glances before following the old woman through the curtained door. Inside, the Elder had sat down, and she invited her guests to do the same.

"Thank you very much, ma'am," James said as the three settled themselves. "I suppose we should introduce ourselves. I am Mincinos, and this is my wife and son, Hoţului and Urmări."

"It is a pleasure to have your company. I am the Elder of this village; I oversee all the people and Pokémon here and work to bring them into harmony." She tilted her head. "I hope you don't mind, but I overhead you speaking to Alan outside. You say you seek 'higher knowledge of great and mysterious Pokémon?'"

"That's what we said," James said with a nod.

"Then I believe I do know why you're here."

"You do?" James inquired.

"Yes," the Elder affirmed. "You see, it was ten years ago that a small, traveling family much like yours own came wanting to learn about the legend of the Tao Trio. The couple was young and idealistic, and they wanted to see the Legendary Pokémon for themselves. I warned them not to, but they paid no heed, and they met with an unfortunate end."

"Oh, we're not interested in the whole Tao Trio," Jessie clarified.

"No?"

"We're actually looking for Kyurem, specifically," James added.

"Ah, how ironic." The Elder frowned. "That was actually the one who cut the lives of that young couple short."

Jessie and James exchanged uneasy glances.

"How?" James finally asked.

"Many years ago, there was a bitter war between two brothers who had very different visions of the world," the Elder began. "One brother believed that we should accept our realities and adhere to the indisputable truths of our natural world. The other believed we should reject truth and instead pursue ideals, no matter how unattainable they might be. Their fighting turned so violent that Dragon-type Pokémon they owned split into two: Reshiram, truth, and Zekrom, ideals. The separation, however, left an empty shell of a Pokémon: Kyurem."

"While this story is interesting, it doesn't answer the question we asked," Jessie pointed out.

"Let me finish," the Elder said calmly. "Kyurem, as a creature born of war, is devoid of both truth and ideals. It is a despairing creature, and it longs to be reunited with both Reshiram and Zekrom. The coldness of its heart has rendered it an Ice-type, and in its sadness, it often creates icy storms incomparable to the chills we feel now, even as Moltres is missing. That couple froze to death when they tried to find Kyurem; the only reason their daughter survived was because they kept her pressed between their bodies as they slipped away."

James let out a shaky breath, and he nervously glanced at Jessie, who seemed unfazed.

"I see," she said. "We understand. We will listen to your warning and not look for Kyurem by ourselves. Still, do you know where he stays?"

The Elder seemed satisfied.

"I can't say where with complete assurity," she answered. "But they say he lingers in the high mountains north from here, in constant mourning."

**_February 28th, 2002. Early Evening. Snowpoint City._**

Dawn sat in silence as she, along with several others, waited as Silver, hunched over the table, sketched out the floor plans of the Sinnoh base to the best of his memory. The patience of some had worn thin, and they'd left to help Cilan and Candice with dinner in the kitchen, or simply milled around in idle conversation with one another.

Kenny leaned up against the doorway, watching Dawn. He inwardly debated his options, though doing so made him feel silly. Nothing had changed, of course; he just needed to re-evaluate his perception of their relationship, but he couldn't seem to pin down an accurate definition. They were friends, of course, but Paul's conversation that morning had challenged that notion, pushing it toward limbo.

Finally, he screwed up his courage and strutted over to her.

"Hey, Dee Dee," he said, sitting beside her.

She raised an eyebrow, but smiled anyway.

"Hi," she returned the greeting. "Been a while since I heard that nickname."

"Ah, well, you'll always be my Dee Dee," he said, offering her a grin. Paul overheard the line and cast a miffed glance over his shoulder, which Kenny noticed out of the corner of his eye. He wasn't the only one; Zoey, sensing the sudden tension, cut her conversation with Barry short to look at the Veilstone trainer. Barry appeared mildly confused and glanced at him, too.

"Oh." Dawn was slightly taken aback; she wasn't offended, simply perplexed. She wasn't naïve to the concept of flirting—she'd done it herself a few times (even inadvertently, considering Paul)—but it seemed very foreign coming from Kenny, though this certainly was not the first time a male companion's affections had caught her off-guard.

Paul looked away, and Barry frowned. Zoey noticed Silver straightening up, and she jumped on the opportunity.

"Hey," she began, interrupting Kenny before he could say anything further. "It looks like Silver's ready to talk."

"All right," Silver began, pushing several sheets of paper toward Leaf. "This is what I've got."

This gathered the full attention of the room's residents, and many who had previously wandered off rejoined the group. Leaf picked up the stack and organized them before looking through each piece—one for each of the three levels in the Sinnoh base: the first, the Ampharos Train Command Center, and the two basements below it. Ash craned his neck over her shoulder, also taking a peek at the hand-drawn floor plans.

"So where would Mewtwo and Moltres be?" the raven-haired boy asked.

"I don't know," Silver answered. "When my father first had Mewtwo—back when the original Kanto base at the Viridian City Gym was still a thing—he had a special station designed specifically for him. It was near his office then, so if I had to guess, I'd say it's probably near his office now."

"Where's your father's office now, then?" Leaf asked.

"Bottom basement."

Leaf flipped back to that page, and Silver sighed.

"Honestly, you shouldn't even be worrying about Mewtwo and Moltres at this point," he said.

"Well, why not?" Iris asked, furrowing her eyebrows. "That's practically the whole reason why we're here."

"Right," Misty agreed. "The most important thing is making sure Ash gets to Mewtwo and Moltres."

"It's not the reason everyone's here," Gary pointed out.

"Oh, right, the whole revenge against Giovanni thing for humiliating you in front of a bunch of pretty girls thing," Misty mocked, batting her eyelashes. Gary appeared put-off for a moment—it did seem a little silly now, but for reasons unbeknownst to him; he had spent a good part of their two-month journey trying to convince Leaf they should seek the Team Rocket boss rather than go to Dragon's Den for that purpose. It didn't seem so ludicrous then.

"I'm just saying," the researcher continued anyway. "I'll admit I do buy into the 'Chosen One' soundbite—" Leaf perked up, and Ash shifted slightly. "—but that's Ash's deal, not mine. There are more things that need to be accomplished here than just rescuing a Mew clone and a wayward Legendary."

Several seemed surprised that Gary had openly confessed to believing Ash was the Chosen One, even if in his own way; yet, Silver didn't seem any more or less impressed.

"While I can appreciate your attempt," the red-haired teen began dryly, "that's not the point I was trying to make."

"It's not?" Dawn asked.

"I see," Conway suddenly spoke up. He was situated in the corner, cleaning his glasses. "You're all thinking too far ahead. If Giovanni's office is at the bottom, you need to figure out how you'll work your down way from the top first." He paused to put on his glasses again, pushing the rim up the bridge of his nose. "If your plan is of the 'storm the castle' variety, I can guarantee you'll fail. You need to figure how you're going to get in before you decide what you're doing inside—and you need to be smart about it."

"Now that," Silver began with a smirk, "is my point. With the Ampharos Train closed, we won't be able to go directly through the Command Center; it'll be locked up, and if we break in, we'll set off alarms."

"Well that's just a shame." Conway frowned. "The Ampharos Train could really be used to our advantage."

Dawn perked up.

"_Our_?" she inquired. "Are you coming with us?"

"Why, of course," Conway replied with a sly grin. "Anything to help you and your friends, Dawn."

His comment drew disapproving looks from both Kenny and Paul, and Zoey let out a long, annoyed sigh.

"Conway does have a point, though," Iris pointed out. "The Ampharos Train _could_ be really useful. Cilan knows bunches about trains, and I'd bet you more than anything he could operate one."

"It would be a good escape route," Paul added with a nod, looking away from Conway.

"OK, while all this is nice," Misty began evenly, "it's completely hypothetical, so it's unproductive to talk about it. The Ampharos Train is closed."

"Don't discount it," Silver retorted. "If someone could get into the Command Center from the inside, they could open access to the train. Someone on the outside would then be able to get in."

"We'll come back to this conversation later after we talk to Cilan," Leaf said, bringing the discussion back into focus. "Now the important question: If we can't get through the Command Center, how _do_ we get in?"

"Simple," Silver replied, "there's a 'secret' entrance, I suppose you could call it, near the Ampharos tracks. It's kind of like a manhole, except it has a code. Lucky for you, I know it."

"The Sinnoh base is literally _under_ the Ampharos tracks?" Zoey appalled.

"Part of it, yes. That entrance leads down to the top basement," Silver answered. "But before you get anywhere close to the second basement, where my father is, you're going to have to get through his and right- and left-hand men. Or, man and woman I should say."

"Who?" Ash asked, his face twisting with confusion.

"Their names are Domino and Petrel. They're executives. Their offices are in the top basement," Silver replied. Leaf breathed out and bit her lip.

"Which brings up a new issue: How are we going to get past them without being noticed?" she asked. "In fact, how are we going to get past dozens of Rocket grunts without being noticed?"

"We could always go with the classic cliché of disguises," Conway suggested.

"As if we have a dozen and some Team Rocket uniforms lying around," Trip muttered. Dawn tilted her head, and she pressed her fingers to her lips, thinking.

"Maybe we don't need that many," Iris said. "Maybe just two. One person could distract Domino, another could distract Petrel."

"That leaves the other agents, though..." Misty trailed off.

"Well, you guys can continue thinking about this later," Candice said, bounding into the room. "Cilan and I have dinner finished. The Sinnoh base'll be there tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day. So come grab a plate."

The group members willingly obliged, as many stood and collected their things before heading into the kitchen. Kenny was about to strike up another conversation with Dawn, but he was disappointed as she quickly left to talk to Leaf. He quickly shook off his dejection, however, and paired back up with Barry to get dinner.

"Hey," Dawn began tentatively, grabbing Leaf's attention. "I was thinking about what Iris and Trip said about Team Rocket uniforms and..."

"And?" the agent prompted.

"Well, while I'm nowhere near as good as my mother," Dawn continued, "I _do_ know a thing or two about sewing."

* * *

Zoey sat across from Barry and Kenny, though she kept her eyes locked on her food for a long while, thinking. She wasn't sure how to approach this topic. In fact, she wasn't sure if she wanted to approach it at all. She wasn't entirely clear how she felt about it, and she wondered whether she should give herself more time to reach a decision.

"Hey Zoe," Barry greeted, friendly. "Where's Dawn?"

"She's with Leaf right now," Zoey answered quickly. She then cast a quick glance toward Kenny, who craned an eyebrow in response.

"Is... something wrong?" he asked. Zoey watched him for a long moment before letting out a defeated sigh.

"I heard your conversation with Paul this morning," she finally said.

"Oh." Now Kenny's gaze was focused on his food, too.

"Wait, you talked to Paul this morning?" Barry asked, surprised.

"Yeah," Kenny mumbled in response, a little flustered. "Why are you bringing it up, Zoey?"

"Maybe we should talk alone," she offered.

"No, it's fine if Barry's here."

"Yeah, I'm his best friend!" Barry added indignantly, apparently offended by the suggestion that he wasn't 'allowed' to hear what Zoey had to say. Zoey kept a muffled chuckle behind her half-smile.

"I know," she said before pausing long enough to sort her thoughts. "Kenny, I know you have feelings for Dawn—and don't try to deny it, because you were flirting before dinner. Trust me, Paul tried denying it to me, but judging by your conversation with him today, it turns out I was right."

Barry's eyes briefly widened and he looked between both Zoey and Kenny. He then frowned and sunk into his chair; now he regretted insisting he stay. He didn't want to hear this conversation any less than Kenny did.

"I'm not going to deny it," Kenny replied tacitly.

"OK..." Zoey trailed off for a moment. "Mind you, I'm telling you this because I'm your friend, and I don't want you to get the wrong impression and get hurt. And to be honest, I'm not supposed to tell you. So I don't want either of you to bring it up with Dawn, because not only will she be mad at me, she'll be really embarrassed that you heard about it."

"All right," Kenny agreed, and Barry nodded, too.

Zoey took in a breath.

"Paul kissed Dawn while she taking care of him the night he had been poisoned," she finally said, "and she kissed back."

Kenny was silent, and Barry frowned.

"I don't know what game Paul was playing this morning—and you know what, maybe he isn't playing a game. Maybe he honestly is under the impression that Dawn will never reciprocate," she continued. "But my personal impression is that, for Dawn, it's headed that way. I guess I could be wrong, and I'm certainly not telling you to stop feeling that way about her, but I wanted to let you know, because while it hurts, I didn't want you to begin operating under an incorrect assumption that would put both you and Dawn in a hard place."

For a while, Kenny didn't have anything to say to that. Zoey pushed her hair back and looked away, waiting for his response.

"Thank you for being honest with me," he finally said. He picked up his fork to continue eating, but he quickly dropped it again, letting it clatter against the plate. "You know, I'm not hungry right now. I'll just... take this back into the kitchen." He promptly pushed his chair back and, taking his food with him, quickly disappeared into the other room. Zoey sighed and pressed her hands to her face.

"Aah, Arceus," she groaned. "I knew I shouldn't have said anything."

"Nah, you did the right thing," Barry insisted with a half-hearted wave of his hand. "I mean, it's tough to hear the person you like likes someone else, but you gotta hear it, you know?"

"I know," Zoey affirmed dolefully.

"He'll appreciate it someday," Barry persisted. "I will, too."

Zoey looked at him strangely, baffled.

"_You_ will?"

Barry hesitated, but after a moment's delay, he admitted, "Yeah, me too."

"You have feelings for Dawn, too?" Zoey seemed a little surprised, though also dismayed by the notion; if it was true, then he would be the fourth person to like Dawn romantically.

"Eh... wrong person," Barry corrected.

Zoey stared. Then, it clicked.

"Oh." She quickly added, "I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you."

"Hey, no need to apologize," Barry replied coolly.

Zoey straightened up, surprised. She gave him a once-over, taking a moment to more fully process the situation.

"You're... you're handling this really well," she commended, though she seemed a little unsure of herself. "That's not meant to be a diss to Kenny, it's just... wow. You're being very mature and... un-Barry like about this."

"Hey!" Barry turned red, his temper flaring. "What's that s'posed to mean? Am I normally _not_ mature? I might have to give you a fine, Zoey, and I never thought I'd have to do that!"

She couldn't resist a chuckle; _there_ was the Barry she knew.

"Don't make much of it," she said, and her warm demeanor disarmed him.

"Yeah..." The blond trailed off, calming down again. "I dunno. I guess I always knew it was a long-shot. You just kinda cling to that hope that maybe it'll change."

Zoey nodded understandingly. Now that she'd had more time to think about it, she was surprised she hadn't seen it before. She had picked up on Paul's, Kenny's, and Conway's affections, and Paul was a tough case to crack. She had completely been blind to Barry's own pursuits though, and she realized she wasn't the only one who'd utterly failed to notice how obvious it was. Suddenly, some of his behavior over the course of their journey—the past few weeks especially—became clear.

"Are there others who know?" she asked. "Does Kenny know?"

"Ah, yeah. Kenny knows, and so does my dad," Barry answered frankly. "I've never told Dawn, but I think she's figured it out by now. Er... not about the Paul part though. Nobody—'cept you now—knows about that. And, uh, I'd actually prefer you don't tell anyone about that. Especially Dawn... and especially, _especially_ Paul. That would be a weird conversation, and an even weirder triangle. Or pentagon, if you count Kenny and that Conway."

"I'm not going to gossip about your love interests, Barry."

Barry's eyelids lowered.

"Yeah, well, thanks," he said. "And seriously, don't worry about Kenny. He'll get over it, in the same way I will."

"Love sucks," Zoey sympathized.

"Nooo doubt," Barry agreed.

* * *

"I really appreciate what you did for me this morning." May blinked and looked up, surprised. She was sitting alone on the first step with her food on her lap. She had been so distracted by her own thoughts that she hadn't heard Drew approach.

"Did what?" she asked.

"You know... the paper thing," Drew answered tentatively.

"Oh!" Realization lit May's eyes. "That was no big deal. I could see you were uncomfortable, so..."

"While it may not be a big deal to you, it was to me," Drew replied, "so thank you."

May pursed her lips, thinking. Then, she set her food off to the side.

"Drew," she began frankly. "I think you think I know something that I don't. Which is fine. You don't have to explain anything to me. I just want to let you know that if you wanna talk to me, I am completely non-judgmental and a really good listener. Like, a really, really good listener. I know you think I talk a lot, but I'm also a good listener."

Drew let out a chuckle at the irony, but May didn't seem perturbed.

"Also..." she continued, "... I want you know that I care about you a lot. I don't think I've ever said that before, but I do."

He stopped, and he looked at her more directly. Seeing the sincerity of her words in her dark blue eyes touched him, and it lowered the defenses he didn't realize he had raised.

"I know." He pushed himself off the wall he was leaning against. "And that's why I'll tell you."

"Tell me what?"

"That person in the photo, as you may or may not have figured out, is my father," Drew stated bluntly. May subtly drew back, but she didn't otherwise react. "That's not all, though. There's actually a lot of things I want to tell you—things I've wanted to tell you for a long time."

May patted the open space next to her on the step, and he accepted her invitation. He then looked up and saw Ash and a couple other of his friends hanging out together while enjoying their food, and he frowned. May blinked and craned her head to try to get a better read on his expression.

"You know, for all the grief I give him," Drew began, distracted, "there's something I really admire about Ash Ketchum."

"What do you mean?" May was confused by this tangent, but she was willing to entertain it out of pure curiosity. She knew Drew was wary of Ash, so for him to offer the Pallet trainer commendation came as a surprise.

"The way he handled finding out his father was Giovanni has really stuck with me for a long time," Drew explained. "Maybe you don't remember, but the night he found out... I basically said he needed to accept it and move on, which isn't bad advice, but saying it made me just about the biggest hypocrite in that room, because there's still a part of me that can't let go."

May was still fuzzy as to what he couldn't 'let go'; nevertheless, she gently pointed out, "Drew, if you think Ash isn't upset that Giovanni is his father, you're wrong."

"That's not it," Drew corrected. "It's just... Ash is able to deal with what comes his way. He lets bad things roll off his back. Me, I can't seem to let go of negativity. As it stands, Ash is going to confront his problems in a few days; I've been running away for nearly five years. I suppose that's what makes him the Chosen One and what makes me a coward."

"Don't say that," May chastised. "I think you're giving Ash _way_ too much credit. You are anything but a coward, Drew Hayden."

"Then I suppose I should tell you my full legal name is actually Andrew Rogers." May's eyes widened slightly, but she said nothing. "I changed it when I left on my journey; it was a snap decision I made when I registered my trainer's license. I wanted to start going by Drew, and I dropped Rogers for Hayden, my mother's maiden name. It wasn't a dramatic change, obviously, but I did it, I suppose, partially because I never wanted to have anything to do with my father again—and partially because I was afraid."

**_February 28th, 2002. Early Evening. Indigo Plateau._**

Solidad watched Chris for a long moment through the one-way glass. Seeing the orange jumpsuit in which he was dressed and the cuffs around his wrists disturbed her; she wondered if he had a poor relationship with his father, too. The question forced her mind to wander back to Drew, and she hoped he was doing well.

"Is there anything you need me to ask?" Solidad inquired as Lance came to stand beside her. He shook his head.

"No," he said. "If Chris gets the impression that you're acting as a mouthpiece for the G-Men, he won't say anything. Let him guide the conversation; let him open up."

Solidad nodded and pushed her bangs back. She was wearing borderline professional attire: a black pencil skirt, a blouse, and red heels. She felt if perhaps she dressed like a professional—like this was her job—then maybe she could distance herself away from the event enough that it didn't have to feel like she was prostituting her personality for information.

"If that's all, can I go in?" she finally asked. He nodded, and she pushed the door open, quickly shutting it behind her. Chris immediately looked up, and Solidad inhaled deeply before she walked over and slid into the chair across from him.

"It's nice to see you again," Chris greeted.

"Well, this certainly does have a different atmosphere than a coffee shop," she said as she adjusted herself, trying to get comfortable. She cast a quick glance toward the window.

"Is Lance watching us?" Chris asked.

"No."

"You don't have to lie to me."

Solidad frowned, placing her hands in her lap.

"The reality is that I don't know anything that could possibly help Lance with anything," Chris continued. "All business between Giovanni and I was done in my own home. I never stepped foot inside any of the main Team Rocket operations."

"Then why did you want me here?"

"The same reason you came," Chris answered plainly. "To talk about Andrew."

Solidad appeared uncertain.

"Frankly, I have nothing to hide anymore," Chris went on. "You and I both know I didn't tell the full story about the night Andrew left the last time we met. Well, here it is."

**_July 10th, 1997. Late Afternoon. La Rousse City._**

"Here you go," Drew said, laying out the bowl full of dry Pokémon food. "Sorry it took me so long today. My tutoring ran a little over schedule."

"Rose Roselia." Roselia easily forgave him, as she always did. She seemed quite understanding for a Pokémon that was often stereotyped as being haughty and vain. He still saw it in her a little bit; she was very particular about certain matters, and she could be a bit patronizing when it came to her teasing. Maybe that was why he liked her so much, though. He was exactly the same way.

The Grass-type munched on the treat for a minute or so before looking back up at the young boy and inquiring, "Rose?"

"I'm going to ask him today," Drew reassured her. "I have to admit, though, I'm a bit nervous. He still doesn't know about you, and since I still don't have my license, he could get rid of you without there being any repercussions."

She frowned and finished up another kibble.

"Rose-lia Rose," she suggested.

"I've gone over this with you: I don't have a Pokéball to catch you with."

"Rose."

"I can't just _buy_ one."

"Ro Rose?"

"My father is rich, not me." He let out an exasperated sigh. "Look, I really am going to talk to him today, and as soon as I get it all straightened out, I promise we'll be off to Slateport City for the contest there. It's a little late in the season, but we could still earn five ribbons..."

"Roselia." She flicked her head to the side indignantly and gobbled up another kibble. Drew rolled his eyes but smiled anyway. He was the one who introduced her to the concept of contests; as a wild Pokémon, she had never heard, much less seen one. He'd always thought she'd be well-suited to the event the first time he stumbled across her in his family's rose garden, and after some explanation, she was hooked on the idea. She would have loved nothing more than to demonstrate the beauty, grace, and power she had to an audience.

"You stay here then and finish up," he said. "Just make sure you aren't seen OK?"

Roselia waved Drew off as he slipped back into his home.

* * *

Drew found his father in his study, busying himself with matters the 10-year-old didn't care to understand. Drew knew full well that he wasn't supposed to bother his father while he was working, but getting the opportunity to talk to him would be impossible otherwise. Thus, he slipped inside and slowly came to stand before his father's desk.

"Dad," Drew began politely, though firmly. "I was wondering if I could talk to you about something."

"Not now, Andrew," Chris dismissed. "I have a meeting with someone important within the hour, and I need to prepare."

"Just a few minutes," Drew persisted. "Please."

Chris paused, tapping his pen against his desk as his eyes rose to meet his son's. He then dropped it with a sigh and leaned back in his chair.

"All right," he finally agreed.

Drew inwardly smirked. His first victory.

"Well," the boy began in a matter-of-fact tone, "in two days, it will have been exactly eight months since my tenth birthday. I know you said you wanted me to focus on my studies for a little longer, and I have. I've been doing really well, too. But... I just really want to leave on a journey."

"No."

"You're not even going to let me finish," Drew stated dryly. His polite mask had shattered.

"Not with that attitude I'm not."

"You said you want me to take over the La Rousse Battle Tower someday," Drew continued his protest, "but don't I have to know about Pokémon to do that? Greek philosophy isn't going to help me become a better trainer."

"But a well-rounded understanding of the humanities in addition to your studies of economics, arithmetic, and the sciences will help you become a better businessman, as well as an overall better citizen of our society," Chris answered. "I'm not denying you the chance to go on a journey ever; I just want you to wait until you're older and better educated."

Drew had heard this spiel before; it was his father's ace the first time Drew tried to convince him to let him leave on a journey eight months earlier. The goal of higher education was a difficult point for a young 10-year-old to refute, so he had been forced to give in. This time, he was prepared.

"A good education is more than just sitting at a desk for twelve hours a day and reading from books," Drew said. "There are things I could learn on a journey now that I couldn't hope to learn reading up on Aristotle. You're denying me that opportunity. I'm not saying that formal education is bad, but there are life experiences I could be missing out on. Did you know that 80 percent of trainers meet the person they will marry while on their journey? I could potentially miss out on meeting my future wife because I'm stuck in my bedroom all day."

"Don't be such a child."

"I'm 10."

"Fine, if you want to make that argument, then you really are too young to be going off on your own."

Drew heaved a frustrated sigh.

"What if I don't even want to run the Battle Tower?" he huffed. "What if there are other things I want to do?"

"Like what?"

"Like... contests."

"Andrew, I don't have time for this." Chris shook his head. "You don't have a Pokémon anyway, and I don't have the time to take you to get one."

"What if I already had one?"

"You don't."

"But what if I did?"

"You don't," Chris repeated. He suddenly stood up. "This conversation is over. My meeting is soon. Go do your homework."

"I finished it already."

"All of it?"

"Yes."

"Then go do some preliminary studying for your lesson tomorrow." Chris retrieved his briefcase and left, and Drew felt heated disappointment well in his eyes once his father disappeared from sight.

* * *

He would not cry. No, no, he refused to cry.

Drew slammed his bedroom door behind him and stormed to his own personal desk, angrily and purposefully knocking over his books in his frustration. He then sank down into the chair, his face falling into his hands. He wondered what he would tell Roselia; she would undoubtedly be as disappointed as him, though she'd probably cover it up with some snide remark about knowing that Chris wouldn't agree all along.

He hastily wiped his eyes. He couldn't think about it now. It upset him too much.

He grabbed the only book remaining on his desk, which, unfortunately, was his least favorite: Greek philosophy. He opened it up anyway and flipped to a random page, thinking maybe he'd grow so bored that he would simply fall asleep and forget his problems.

_There are four distinct words for love within the Greek language. Although it is historically difficult to distinguish each word from one another, there are some general definitions:_

_**Storge:** Affectionate love. Storge is natural affection and is used almost exclusively to describe the relationships between members of a family._

_**Philia:** Mental love. Philia denotes friendship in both ancient and modern Greek. It is love based on give-and-take, and it is dispassionate. Philia also encompasses loyalty to friends, family, and community._

_**Agápe:** Spiritual love. Agápe is unconditional; it gives and expects nothing in return. Unlike éros, it is not based in attraction. Rather, it is selfless in the sense that the love given is not necessarily reciprocated. _

_**Éros:** Physical love. Éros is characterized by passion, romance, and longing. It is not necessarily sexual in nature, but it typically denotes intimate relationships and marriage. Eros can also be described as an appreciation for beauty within a person, or perhaps just beauty itself._

Drew's eyes began to drift. Eventually, they met the framed photo on his desk. It was of his mother, who had died unexpectedly when he was 4 years old. He didn't remember her well; in fact, he hardly remembered her at all. Yet, he had created this fantasy—a way of coping, he supposed—that life would be better if his mother was still around. Maybe she'd talk his father into letting him go on a journey like a normal 10-year-old.

Growing depressed again, Drew reached out and turned on the small television he kept stationed in one of the shelves on his desktop. He wasn't a big fan of television, but as his longing to compete in contests grew, he had begun watching it more and more lately, purely so he could watch live events. The appeals round fascinated him, but the battles were his favorite. They were different from the battles he had seen in the Battle Tower, and they were the primary reason he started questioning whether he really wanted to follow his father's footsteps and inherit the business.

When he became more serious about the idea of becoming a coordinator, he had started taking notes while watching live events—what kind of moves did the judges like? Which Pokémon tended to do well? How did different competitors balance solid battling techniques with beauty and appeal? He had shared his findings with Roselia, and both he and she wished he could somehow manage to get her upstairs so they could watch an event together. The risk was too great, however; if a maid spotted them, they would certainly never see each other again.

Unfortunately, no contests were on at this hour, so he flipped through several channels, seeking something mildly interesting. He eventually landed on the inter-regional news channel, which was reporting on a fire that occurred yesterday at a gym in the Kanto region.

"_We're here live at the Celadon City Gym—or rather, the charred remains of the Celadon City Gym—after a fire broke out last night_," the anchor said. "_This morning, we received reports that the fire was actually started by a couple of Team Rocket grunts who came to rob Gym Leader Erika Applebaum of a rare perfume fragrance kept in the gym_."

Drew tilted his head. Team Rocket wasn't a presence in Hoenn, but the organization had been making regional and national headlines a lot more lately—especially after the Champion, Steven Stone, announced a partnership with Lance Grayson, the Indigo Champion, for the purpose of lending the Hoenn G-Men force's assistance to the Indigo regions.

Drew continued to watch the report for a couple more minutes before feeling a tingle in the back of his throat. He was thirsty. He turned the television off and stood up again, stretching.

Downstairs, he passed by the room in which his father was meeting with another male. Drew didn't give the two a second glance, and neither did they to he. He only intended to get his glass of water and make the way back up to his room for another session of moping and being bored by the philosophies of Greek men who lived ages before him.

Yet, as he passed by the meeting room again, a snippet of the conversation caught his attention.

"You must understand why I am hesitant. A couple of your organization's members set fire to a gym in Kanto. As tempting as your offer is, hearing such is really disheartening."

"The incident at the Celadon Gym was the result of a few incompetent, idiotic members. Their mistake is not a reflection on the whole organization."

Drew stopped, blinking. _The Celadon Gym? Wasn't that just... ?_

"It is in the media. It makes me nervous. Like I said, I'm interested in your proposition, but I'm not interested in going to jail."

"Team Rocket's other activities are completely separate from what I'm talking to you about."

Drew couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was nearly tempted to pinch himself. If his ears weren't deceiving him, his father was talking to some sort of Team Rocket executive. Team Rocket; the very criminal organization the world despised now. Drew and his father had always been distant, but he didn't ever imagine he would be willing to engage with criminal business.

"Project Legendary has the potential to create the world's most powerful Pokémon," the Rocket continued. "We have a new researcher who has been working on some experiments. We just need more funding."

"Are you sure this one won't back out? I don't want to take a loss."

"We're confident. Dr. Fuji has a vested interest in harnessing our cloning technologies." There was a long pause, and Drew moved closer to the wall, attempting to hear better while still keeping himself concealed. "Trust me, Mr. Rogers, Project Legendary will be well worth your time. It is-" Another pause. "Sorry, my Persian has just grown uneasy. I believe he senses that we have company."

Drew felt as though a stone had dropped into the pit of his stomach, and he scrambled to stand as his father came out the door.

"Andrew?" Chris inquired, seeing him.

"I-I was just getting a glass of water, that's all," Drew nervously insisted, but it was no good. He had been caught eavesdropping. Chris frowned, but before he could say anything, the Rocket executive called from the next room over.

"Mr. Rogers? Is that your son?"

"Yes." Chris firmly grasped Drew's arm, and the boy squirmed, trying to get away as he was just short of dragged into the room. Yet, only then was he able to get a good look at the Team Rocket executive. He had a rather square face with olive skin and sharp, brown eyes. He had a wrinkle or two on his forehead, but he was still relatively young; younger than 40, for sure.

"Andrew, this is Giovanni Paul," Chris introduced. Drew had stopped struggling against his father, too mortified to move. The piercing gaze of the Rocket had him paralyzed. "He and I are exploring a possible business venture together."

"Ah, Andrew," Giovanni greeted cordially. "I must say, you look just like your father. Same eyes, same face... same everything really. He's talked about you a few times. He says you're too bright for own good, and I might be tempted to agree. They say the brightest minds are the most inquisitive ones."

Drew said nothing. His bottom lip quivered.

"How old are you?" Giovanni asked.

"A-Almost 11," Drew stammered.

"You're not much older than my own son then. He's, unfortunately, also a case of a young boy being too bright for his own good—but at least he isn't insolent enough to listen in on his father's private conversations."

Drew lightly pulled against his father's grip to check whether it had loosened at all, but it hadn't. He was stuck. So, Drew forced to endure the unbearable silence and serpent-like glare of the Rocket executive for a long period of time, at least until his father spoke up again.

"I am deeply sorry for this interruption," Chris said. "I will return in a few minutes."

Drew was certain his arm was going to bruise as his father led him out of the room and began marching him back up the stairs.

"You shouldn't have done that," Chris hissed.

"I didn't mean to." Drew wanted to protest; he wanted to point out that his father should be working with Team Rocket, but he couldn't find the words—or the courage—to do so.

"Now I have to fix this mess."

"I promise I won't say anything," Drew swore.

None of what Drew said seemed to lessen his parent's anger; nor did it cause him to relax his death grip. Once they reached Drew's bedroom, Chis threw open the door and pushed his son inside. Drew stumbled, nearly falling over, but he managed to catch himself and regain his balance.

"Stay in here and let me handle it," Chris growled. "We'll talk later."

He slammed the door and placed something up against it—a chair to prevent him from escaping, though that didn't mean Drew didn't try. He jangled the doorknob a few times and tried to push it up open, but to no avail. Drew then turned and fell back against the door, trying to catch his breath. Although he hadn't been running, the anxiety he felt was enough to push up his heart rate and exhaust him of all air.

What would he do? What would happen to him? What was his father going to 'fix' exactly? Drew didn't dwell on these questions for too long. He realized he needed to make a decision, and the first was to grab his backpack from his closet and begin shoving clothes and other essentials he could find within his room inside.

He then went to the window, forcing it open. Drew leaned out to get a better look below, and his head spun. The jump would hurt, but it wouldn't break anything.

"Roselia!" he called out. He didn't care if someone heard him; this was his only shot to get out, and he had to take it. He called her name again before the Thorn Pokémon emerged from the bushes, looking up at him curiously.

"I'm coming down," he told her. "We're going to Slateport City."

**_February 28th, 2002. Evening. Snowpoint City._**

May was grasping one of Drew's hands with both of hers as he finished his story, her thumbs pressed firmly against his knuckles. Several times, he had stopped in the middle and would require May's coaxing—which usually involved a gentle squeeze and a reassuring smile—to continue. This was the most vulnerable she had ever seen him, and she didn't like it; not in the sense that she found it unattractive or piteous, but rather because she knew he didn't like feeling so exposed.

And perhaps that was only the positive thing she could pull from this experience: He trusted her enough to give him a deeply personal account of a day's terror that at times still haunted him, even five years later.

"Drew?" she began quietly.

"Hm?" he intoned.

"Thank you for telling me," she replied. "And I stand by what I said: You are anything but a coward."

The sound of someone clearing their throat captured the young pair's attention, and they looked up to see Leaf standing in front of them.

"Sorry for interrupting a sentimental moment," she coughed. "But I need to talk to you May."

**_February 28th, 2002. Evening. Indigo Plateau._**

Solidad and Chris sat in silence for several long minutes; the only noise to keep them company was the quiet hum of the yellow ceiling lamp hanging above the table. He was letting her digest the story, giving her the time to process his words and form a response.

She didn't look at him when she finally began speaking.

"The first time we met, Mr. Hayd- Rogers," Solidad corrected herself, "you asked me what I thought of you. I explained I had been predisposed to dislike you because of your son, but that I was trying to withhold judgement."

Chris said nothing, but he nodded. He remembered the conversation.

"I'm trying to appreciate your reasoning, but I just... I just can't. I've made my decision," Solidad continued. "And I'm not sorry to admit that I agree with Drew's original assessment."

.

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	24. XXI: In Which Ritchie Stains Red

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Chapter XXI: In Which Ritchie Stains Red

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_**March 4th, 2002. Middle of the night. Snowpoint City.**_

Ash couldn't sleep.

He tried; he really did. He shut his eyes tightly, swearing he wouldn't open them until morning—but his imagination took hold, and his anxiety twisted the Mareep he was counting in his mind into images of failure, of the worst possible outcomes of their impending mission, forcing him to open them again and dispel the awful mental pictures.

"Pika?"

Pikachu must have sensed his trainer's discomfort, because he stirred awake and nuzzled Ash's cheek.

"Sorry Pikachu," Ash mumbled, turning toward the wall. "Didn't mean to bother you."

"Pi Pika," Pikachu reassured him, and Ash smiled crookedly before sitting up. Pikachu leapt into his lap, and Ash affectionately patted him on the head, grateful for his unwavering support—even at 1 a.m.

"It's just..." Ash's voice trailed off. "I guess I'm just really nervous about tomorrow—er, today." Pikachu tilted his head and encouraged him to go on. Ash continued, "People keep saying the most important thing is making sure I get to Moltres and Mewtwo, but... what after that? Everything is hinged on me, and that's a lot of pressure! Does everyone think I have some sort of special Chosen One powers that are supposed to activate? I don't know..."

Ash fell back against the wall.

"A lot of people are counting on me today," he said slowly, solemnly. "I don't want to let them down; we've come so far after all, and we've all gone through so much. I feel like this is my responsibility, but I don't know what to do. Why do people believe? What makes _me_ the Chosen One?"

"Pikachu Pika."

"You believe in me?" Ash blinked.

Pikachu nodded. Ash tried for another smile, but it quickly fell apart, and he cast his gaze away from his partner.

"Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate that... but I'm not so sure I believe in myself."

* * *

By 4 a.m., the whole household was awake and preparing, though the trainers had yet to gather together in a single room and consolidate their finals plans. Rather, the group had split in two according to gender—the boys being downstairs in the living room and the girls being upstairs in Candice's bedroom and adjacent bathroom.

"May, just come out," Zoey encouraged, speaking through the bathroom door. "Dawn will make any necessary adjustments. You don't have any reason to be embarrassed."

"I _am_ embarrassed," May mumbled from the other side.

"It's just us girls, May," Misty joined Zoey. "No one is going to judge you here."

Misty's consolation was met with silence. Then, slowly, the door creaked open, and May stepped into the bedroom, tugging at the end of her miniskirt. She was dressed in a faux black Team Rocket uniform, bare midriff and thigh-high boots included. Dawn let out a delighted giggle as she clapped her hands together.

"Oh, it's a perfect fit!" she exclaimed.

"Better, it looks just like the real thing," Leaf said with a satisfied nod. "Compliments to the seamstress."

"Yeah, nice job Dawn!" Iris added, and Dawn's cheeks tinted a peachy pink, flattered by the praise.

"I don't know how I'm supposed to walk like a lady in this," May broke in with a whimper, flustered. "Can't Dawn do this? We're basically the same size, and she carries herself _so_ much better than me."

"No, it has to be you," Leaf said gently. "Sinnoh is Dawn's home region, and she participated in the Sinnoh Grand Festival here just last year—and made it all the way to the final round, might I add. She's a recognizable face. You are, too, but you've never competed here for a whole season, and it's been a while since you've been in a high-profile event with the delay of the Johto Grand Festival. You're less likely to be identified."

"Of course, to be safe," Candice began cheerily, "we'll add some red lipstick and false lashes. No one will suspect the 20-something Veronica Knotz is actually the young adolescent May Maple."

"As for the skirt," Misty jumped back in, "if it makes you that uncomfortable, maybe we could get you some Spanx to wear under it. Then you wouldn't have to feel so self-conscious."

May wrung her hands together nervously, but she agreed before pulling on the skirt again.

* * *

"Man, you gotta hand it to Dawn," Barry began as he folded his arms and gave the person standing in front of him a once-over, "she knows how to sew."

"Indeed," Conway agreed. "A surprising talent; then again, Dawn is _full_ of surprises."

Trip—decked out in a second hand-made Team Rocket uniform—glowered at his peers and adjusted his shirt before allowing his hands to fall limply at his sides.

"I hate myself," he muttered irritably.

"Good, keep that mindset, and you'll make an excellent Team Rocket grunt," Silver said. The group of males then turned their heads as they girls came down the stairs. May had stopped fidgeting with her skirt, though she still seemed rather apprehensive. Candice looked quite proud of her work, however; May's hair was pulled up into a nice ponytail, and her make-up added at least ten years to her face.

Drew flushed pink, and he looked away to gather himself. Ritchie couldn't help but let out an amused chuckle.

"Wow, Miss Bombshell Maple, I almost didn't recognize you there," Gary teased with a smirk, and Leaf frowned, annoyed. "Oh, sorry, let me correct myself: Miss Bombshell Knotz."

"I feel like a piece of meat," May whined.

"Sweetheart, I hate to break it to you, but for all intents and purposes, that's exactly what you're supposed to be," Zoey calmly pointed out.

"I know, but..." Her voice trailed off, and she turned red again. Drew shook off his attraction, growing concerned.

"This isn't good," he said. "If she's too uncomfortable, she can't sell herself as a Team Rocket member. The Rocket logo won't do much if her heart's on her sleeve." Leaf furrowed her eyebrows, displeased, but knowing he had a point. Before she could formulate a second approach, however, Paul spoke up.

"She can do this," he said plainly, and several—including both May and Drew—appeared surprised by his confidence in the Petalburg trainer.

"You do?" May asked tepidly.

"Yes," Paul answered shortly, "and I'll tell you exactly why: You're a coordinator, and from what I've heard, you're a good one. More than just putting up a good fight, coordinating is putting on a good show. True?" He glanced toward Zoey, and she quirked an eyebrow.

"This is true," she confirmed.

"Right." Paul looked back at May. "Coordinators are performers; actors, I guess you could say. You adopt a stage persona in the contest hall, and this should be no different. You just need to step outside of yourself and become your stage character." May looked up shyly, though she seemed encouraged by his words.

"Besides," Gary broke in after a moment, "and I'm sorry to be blunt, but May: You're hot. Own it." Drew glared, and Misty smacked the back of the researcher's head, for which the La Rousse coordinator was thankful.

"I'll take Paul's advice, thank you," May said with a chuckle, a little flustered by the comment, but otherwise unperturbed. "OK. You're right. I _can_ do this."

"That's the spirit!" Trip feigned a mocking enthusiasm. "Now that May's got her self-esteem back, I'm sure everything will just go along dandy."

"Are you nervous, too, Jamie?" Iris asked teasingly. "Because there's _really_ no reason to worry about you."

"You know, let's not make another joke about how no one knows who Trip is," the Nuvema trainer grumbled.

"Well, if that's everything," Leaf began with a quick breath, before a fight could ensue, "then we should be ready to go. Are you ready, Ash?"

The boy, who stood separate from the group, leaning against the wall, quickly looked up at his peers' inquiring gazes. Swallowing his apprehension, he put on his most confident grin.

"Yeah." The waver in his voice went undetected. "I'm ready."

_**March 4th, 2002. Early morning. Indigo Plateau.**_

Steven was initially surprised to see Cynthia up and about in the communal kitchen; recently, she had been unable to sleep in the early hours, which often resulted in her staying in bed until the later in the morning. Then he realized she hadn't slept at all last night.

"Morning," he greeted, friendly. Cynthia quickly turned her head and smiled.

"Oh, morning," she replied before returning to the stove. "I'm making scrambled eggs. Would you like some?"

"Please. Do you want help?"

"No, that's fine."

Steven nodded and slid into a chair, waiting. Silence fell, and for a moment, their world resembled a quaint image of domesticity. Husband and wife, expecting a baby girl in several months, basking in the scent of breakfast on a Sunday morning. It was everything they could want.

It had to end.

"I realized after I woke up," Steven began slowly, guiltily, knowing he would dispel the magic, "Chris is approaching the 30-day mark. If we don't bring charges against him by tomorrow, we'll have to let him go."

"Then we'll bring charges against him," Cynthia replied tacitly.

"What could we charge him with?" Steven asked. "We don't have any proof. He admitted he funded Project Legendary off the record. Even so, it's questionable whether he did anything wrong legally. There are no laws against investing in a research project. The fact it was with Team Rocket complicates the matter, but I'm not sure it could clinch a conviction."

"Then we'll let him go."

"Then again, he resumed funding it last year—probably to build that suit Mewtwo has," Steven continued musing.

"But we don't have proof of that on the record, right?" Cynthia stopped to empty the pan's eggs into a bowl, and she brought it along with two plates to the table.

"No."

Cynthia sighed as she went to retrieve utensils.

"There are some battles you just can't win," she said. "It seems like today's going to be another day where we can do nothing."

_**March 4th, 2002. Early Morning. Mt. Coronet.**_

May meticulously placed one foot in front of the other, balancing herself on the rails as the group traveled along the snowy Ampharos Train tracks. They had been following the tracks for a while now, and the winter world around them hung in eerie silence as they moved; the uncanny atmosphere had only been temporarily disrupted a couple of times, as when a pack of Swinub shuffled nearby, or a furry Ratatta scampered across the tracks.

May took a wrong step and wobbled slightly before Drew, who was walking alongside her, reached out and grasped her shoulder to help her regain steady footing.

"Whoa there," he said. "Careful, let's not break anything before you even get into the base."

Siver suddenly hushed him, and everyone stopped, looking at the red-haired boy curiously. Silver bent down and began erratically brushing his hands across the snow—until he found exactly what he wanted. Now using his full arm, he brushed away a thick layer of ice, revealing a slightly rusted, circular plate with an eight-digit rectangular combination lock built into it.

"Is that the 'secret' entrance you were talking about?" Ash asked, crouching next to his brother.

"Yes. Good deduction skills, Sherlock," Silver answered dryly. "Not a lot of Rockets know about it. Even less use it."

"How do you know about it, then?" Zoey inquired.

"I used to sneak out—a lot." Silver flicked through each of the eight available number slots until he reached the desired combination: 1-2-2-4-1-9-8-7. The lock clicked, and he grasped the handle, turning the door.

Ash blinked.

1-2-2-4-1-9-8-7.

12-24-1987.

December 24th, 1987.

It was Silver's birthday, Ash remembered.

Gary helped Silver remove the heavy cover and toss it aside, revealing a ladder down into a small chamber. Silver wiped the lingering snow off his gloves and stood up again.

"All right," he said, looking toward May. "Ladies first."

May nodded nervously, pushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She then pulled the hooded sweatshirt she was wearing over her head and handed it to Drew. Her exposed skin stung from the cold, and she suddenly became strangely eager to head into the base, where it would undoubtedly be warmer. Trip and Leaf were next, and before Silver followed, he looked to Candice and Cilan.

"If you continue following the tracks, you'll eventually get to the Command Center," he said. "Go a little further past that, and you'll find the station where they keep the Ampharos Train when it's not in service. Wait for Conway and Ritchie to get into the Command Center to give you access to the train, then take it down there. You understand?"

"We've got it," Candice assured him. Silver nodded before giving his attention to the rest of the group.

"I'll come back for you guys as soon as I can," he said. "Just wait."

He then disappeared into the chamber.

* * *

May didn't like this at all.

She knew she didn't have much reason to worry about herself; she was in a Team Rocket uniform, and she and Trip blended in seamlessly among the several grunts whom they had seen thus far. She remained anxious, however, because of the two other companions she and the Unova trainer had. Leaf and Silver, dressed in their normal attire, would set off alarms in the minds of any passerby Rockets who saw them.

The coordinator nearly gasped out when they met a surprise Rocket as they turned a corner, and Silver and Leaf hurried back into the shadows. Trip remained calm, and the Rocket merely sent May an odd look.

"May, you've got to calm down," Trip chastised her as soon as they were alone.

"Yeah," Leaf agreed as she and Silver came up behind them. "Don't worry about us."

May nodded and offered a quiet apology. Then, Silver's eyes widened, and he quickly touched her shoulder and directed her to look ahead. She and Trip both glanced behind themselves. There was a lilac-haired male with his nose buried in some files passing nearby.

"That's him. That's Petrel," Silver said.

"Right. Then you're on, May," Leaf added.

"_Now_?" May panicked.

"Yes, now. Go, you'll be fine." Leaf gave her a little push in his direction before she, Silver, and Trip retreated into hiding. May gave them one last look of desperation before returning her attention toward Petrel, who was now on his way out. She swallowed.

Stage on.

"Ah, excuse me?" May called after him, jogging to catch up. He stopped and turned a curious eye toward her, but he said nothing.

"Hi, my name is Veronica," she greeted affably."I'm new around here, and I was wondering if you could direct me toward the staff cafeteria. I have a tendency to get lost, and this place is a labyrinth!"

He gave her a once-over—and suddenly, his wariness dissolved, he seemed _very_ willing to provide her with assistance.

"Well, I can certainly do more than that!" he chortled. "I'll escort you there myself."

"Oh... well, thank you!" May was briefly surprised at how quickly that had happened. "It means a lot. I don't know that many people around here."

"Well, now you know me," he said with a sly grin. "My name's Petrel, but you can call me Petey. I'm the Sinnoh Co-Chief Assistant."

"Really?" May feigned surprise. As the conversation smoothly progressed, she found herself more at ease, and she settled nicely into her character's role. "I didn't know that. I feel really honored now."

"Yup." He flashed the jewelry on his hand: a ruby-encrusted platinum ring with the initials 'TR' engraved in it. "See this? This is my proof of being a Rocket Executive. I'm actually surprised we haven't met yet."

"Ah, well..."

"One of Domino's recruits?" he asked.

"Yes." May went along with it.

"I see. Well, we'll make up for lost time now." He extended his arm to her. "So how about some breakfast? My treat."

May felt the slightest twinge of hesitation and revulsion as she realized this man was, in reality, at least a decade her senior. She didn't let her own reservations deter her performance, however, so she merely smiled and politely accepted his proposal with a bat of her eyelashes.

* * *

Domino groaned irritably when someone knocked on the door to her office. She didn't like to be bothered this early; she was tired, peckish, and a tad more surly than usual.

"Come in," she groused. The door creaked open, and a young, blue-eyed, blond-haired male slipped inside. "What do you want?"

"Domino, Ma'am." He saluted her. "Petrel sent me to convey a message."

"What's your name?"

"Jamie."

Domino narrowed her gaze; he was fresh in the organization, she could tell. Every member of the Team Rocket organization had a number, and they became that number at induction. They were told to introduce themselves by such, but new recruits tended to mistakenly give their real name rather than their number and had to be drilled to do differently. Only higher-ups, such as herself, could retain their name as a sign of status.

"No." She shook her head. "What's your _number_?"

"My... my number?"

"You know what, never mind," she sighed. He was obviously one of Petrel's, who nearly always failed to correct his new recruits in this matter. "What does Petrel want?"

"He wanted to let you know there's been a change of schedule this morning," the boy continued. "He wants to call a mandatory training session for all Team Rocket employees here—and he wants you to lead it."

"_Excuse me_?" Domino huffed. "A training session on _what_?"

"On..." He paused, wrestling with his words. "... On what to do if you are captured by a G-Men agent. Considering what happened recently."

"Ugh," she scoffed. "What utter irresponsibility. He should know better. He _knows_ I need time to prepare for these things, and he knows he should have come talk to me himself instead of sending some worm to surprise me."

She rose out of her swivel chair and headed for the door.

"We're going to straighten this out," she said as she passed by. "Come on."

* * *

Leaf waited around the corner from Domino's office, though she kept a wary eye and ear open to any potential Rocket grunts that could approach and force her to move elsewhere. So, when she heard the footsteps, she sprung into motion, shuffling into another small passageway. Then she realized the footsteps belonged to Silver, and she re-emerged to greet him.

"How did May do?" she asked.

"Fine," Silver replied. "She and Petrel are heading to the cafeteria."

"OK... good."

"Where's Trip?"

"He's speaking with Domino in her office now, and-" She was cut off when the door to the said office swung open, and Leaf and Silver immediately scampered away. Domino briskly came out, clearly irate, with Trip in tow. Leaf craned her neck to try to get a read on his expression, to gauge how the conversation had gone—but they disappeared around the corner before she could get the chance.

As soon as they were gone, both she and Silver hurried ahead, running to her office door. Leaf inwardly pumped her fist victoriously when they found it was unlocked. Domino had been in such a rush that she hadn't properly closed it up.

Inside, Silver immediately knew where to go. On her desk, he picked up a small stack of folders and quickly shuffled through them. Then, he pulled out two card keys, and Leaf put on a relieved, though confident smile.

"This one's to the PA room," he said, handing it to her. "Keep heading further down the main passageway. It'll be the third door down to your left from here."

"OK." Leaf nodded.

"The one I have is to the Ampharos Train Command Center on the floor above," Silver continued. He set the folders back down, exactly as they had been. "I'm going back up to meet the others, and I'll give the second key to Conway and Ritchie. I'll then start for the bottom basement with the rest, but you'll need to make an announcement before then so the area will be clear."

"You got it." They headed toward the door. "Good luck."

"Same to you," he threw back, and they parted ways.

* * *

Leaf followed Silver's instructions precisely, and when she found the door, she paused to retrieve one of her Pokéballs. She didn't know if anyone would be inside, but if someone was, she would need to knock them out quickly. She then slowly slid the card key into the slot and pulled it out, waiting for the green light to flash. When it did, she took a deep breath, grasped the handle, and threw the door open.

The room was empty.

Leaf breathed out the tension that had ballooned in her chest. It was anti-climactic, but she certainly didn't mind.

She put away her Pokéball and approached the broadcast table, though that wasn't what captured her intrigue at that moment. Leaf became more interested in the large, glass windows above it, and she leaned over the table to peer outside. The windows provided a view of a large, open space on the floor below, the bottom basement, where Ash and company would move through to find Giovanni, Mewtwo, and Moltres—after she made her announcement.

Leaf glanced down at the table and found it was easy to understand. There was only one button, and it was labeled 'ON' in big, red letters. Beside it was a microphone. She took a moment to figure exactly what she wanted to say, then pressed two fingers against the button.

"Your attention please," she began in her most secretarial voice, leaning toward the microphone. "There has been a special employee training session arranged in the large training hall on B1. Attendance for all Team Rocket members is mandatory. Again, please report to the large training hall on B1 immediately. The session begins in fifteen minutes."

Leaf released the button and stepped away, looking quite satisfied with herself. She then turned to leave, but as she did, she paused, having second thoughts. She was _supposed_ to go up to meet Conway and Ritchie in the Command Center—yet those windows made a very tempting offer. It provided a great view of the bottom basement, and she would be able to keep an eye on things as they unfolded. If danger was afoot, she would know.

Conway and Ritchie, she decided, would get along fine without her.

* * *

"What the-" Petrel stopped short, baffled by the announcement. He and his new companion were sitting at a table for two in the staff cafeteria, enjoying a light meal. The other Team Rocket employees in the area seemed similarly confused, but they didn't question it. They took their trays of food to the trash and began heading out, on their way to the training ground.

"Is something wrong?" May asked innocently. She had only nibbled on the croissant he purchased for her.

"Domino must've forgotten to tell me about this..." he grumbled. "That woman... been working with her for years now, and I still can't stand her."

"Should we go then?" May offered.

"Nah, that's OK. Remember who you're with," he said, looking back at her with a wink. "We can be a little late."

May forced a smile. Her hands, invisible to him underneath the table, curled tightly into the fabric of her skirt.

* * *

Ash dragged a single finger across the snow and looped it into a circle. They had been waiting for quite a while by then, and the restlessness of the group was becoming evident. They had no way to communicate with their four comrades who had entered the base, so they had no idea what was happening or even if everything was at least going according to plan.

Misty tilted her head, noticing Ash's distraction, and then looked at the pictures he had drawn in the ice: three circles, one with a thunderbolt inside, another with a snowflake, and the last with a flame.

She blinked. They were the elemental treasures he collected the first time he needed to save the world. The Shamouti prophecy was on his mind.

"Hey!"

The group's attention was quickly drawn to the manhole, from which Silver was re-emerging.

"Is it done, then?" Iris asked, leaping to her feet. "Is everything ready?"

"Yes," Silver answered. "May's with Petrel in the cafeteria, Trip's keeping Domino busy, Leaf made the announcement, and nearly all the other Rocket employees are at the training hall now."

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the card key.

"This'll get you into the Command Center," he said, giving it to Conway. "Once we get inside, we'll split ways. You and Ritchie will head up, and the rest of us will go down."

"To meet Giovanni?" Ash inquired, rising to his feet. Pikachu leapt onto his shoulder.

Silver looked at him pointedly.

"That's the plan, isn't it?"

* * *

"Petrel? Petrel, are you in there?" Domino banged loudly on the door to her co-worker's office, and Trip winced. She was undoubtedly angry after he told Petrel wanted her to hold the meeting; however, she became _livid _after hearing the announcement over the PA system.

"I swear to Arceus, I'll kill him. Who does he think he is?" she seethed, before abruptly turning back toward Trip and demanding, "Where is he?"

"I'm not sure," he replied. "Maybe he's already gone to the training hall?"

Domino let out a huff and turned, heading in that direction. Trip couldn't help but smirk and adjust his hat before following her.

* * *

With a flash of green and turn of the handle, the door to the Command Center quietly creaked open, and Ritchie and Conway peered inside. They were met with an empty, cold darkness—and a small, blinking red light near the door.

"An alarm!" Ritchie exclaimed, realizing what it was. He remembered that Silver had suspected there might be one set, but Ritchie had no idea how to deal with it. Conway, however, quickly sprung into action to take a look.

"This is a standard electronic security pad," he declared after a moment's observation. "You typically have about 60 seconds to disable it after entering the room. If you fail to do so, it'll start ringing."

"Well, we've wasted at least 30 of those seconds! What do we-?"

Conway entered an eight-digit number and pressed 'OFF.' The red light stopped flashing, and Ritchie looked at him, baffled.

"What did you do?" he asked.

"I entered 1-2-2-4-1-9-8-7," Conway replied with a shrug. "That was the combination Silver used to open the manhole."

"... Do you have a photographic memory?"

"Indeed." Conway adjusted his glasses. "Aren't you lucky to have me?"

Ritchie breathed out, letting his tensed shoulders relax. He grappled for a light switch as Conway moved toward the control station for the Ampharos Train. Both the trainers squinted when the warm lights flickered on, and it took their eyes a moment to adapt.

"So how are we going to do this?" Ritchie asked, shutting the door behind him. "Do you think maybe there's an instruction manual somewhere? I have _no_ idea how to work a train..."

"To borrow Dawn's catchphrase," Conway said, turning to face his peer, "no need to worry. I'm a genius with technology. It shouldn't be too hard for me to figure out. You just wait there and make sure no enemy faces turn up."

Ritchie furrowed his eyebrows, but he said nothing as he leaned back against the cool, metallic door. His eyes flicked ahead to the windows, foggy with ice. Still, he could make out the tracks outside, where Candice and Cilan would pull up with the Ampharos Train... as soon as they gained access.

Conway rubbed his chin as he examined the various buttons, switches, and lights at the control station. Then, he reached out and flicked a single, silver knob. Suddenly, with a loud, though even hum, the station came to life. The screen hanging above the controls flickered on, revealing a digital map of the Ampharos Train's location and track line.

* * *

Cilan hit the bottom of his dying flashlight a couple of times as he and Candice entered the tunnel, trying to jolt the battery. They had already passed by the Command Center long ago and were now seeking the Ampharos Train itself. Cilan knew they were close, though; he was willing to bet the keeping station was either at the end of the tunnel, or in it.

"So where did you learn to drive trains, anyway?" Candice asked, her arms folded behind her head.

"I've attended the annual Metro Connoisseur Convention in Nimbasa City, Unova, for quite a while now," he answered. "The Subway Bosses, Ingo and Emmet, host it every year."

"That's a thing?"

"Oh yes." Cilan nodded. "There are many train lovers out there, and I happen to be one of them."

"Huh... " Candice let out a chuckle, but before she could carry the conversation any further, Cilan gasped.

"Look! There it is!" he exclaimed. "The Ampharos Train!"

He sprinted ahead, and Candice, surprised by his glee-filled reaction, cried after him, telling him to wait for her.

"Wow, it's more gorgeous than I even imagined," Cilan sighed once he got close. Candice eventually caught up, out of breath. "I've always been interested in visiting it. Its design and engineering is ingenious. A train powered almost exclusively by an Electric-type Pokémon? Why, it's revolutionary!"

"Yeah," Candice half-heartedly agreed as she wiped the cooled perspiration from her forehead.

Cilan then grasped the sliding door to one of the cars and, turning his head toward her, said, "Help me get it open."

Candice reached out and dug her fingers into the crack between the door, too, and together, she and Cilan managed to pry it open. Cilan then practically pranced inside, starry-eyed.

"Ah, look at this seating!" he gushed. "Nice color, good quality... for a depraved organization, Team Rocket has good taste."

Suddenly remembering their purpose for being there, the connoisseur's expression deadpanned, and he looked toward the front. Candice cast him a careful glance. She felt it was a shame to see his jubilant mood so quickly disintegrate under the pressure of their task.

"I wonder if Conway and Ritchie have greenlighted us yet?" he muttered before moving forward. Candice blinked and followed closely behind him as they traveled through the various cars and reached the pilot—a pilot with fully functional communication abilities, open to anyone who knew how to operate it.

Candice let out a surprised, though happy breath.

"They did it," she said.

Cilan nodded and reached for one of his Pokéballs.

"All right Stunfisk, you're up!"

* * *

The scene in the training hall was a chaotic one.

With no leader present, most of the Team Rocket employees milled around in confusion. Some had grown a little panicked as they wondered what the purpose of the meeting would be; it was unusual for a training session to be arranged so suddenly and without prior warning. It was even more rare that _every_ Rocket employee be in attendance.

Domino's eyes widened when she entered the room, seeing the mess before her. She nearly pinched herself. She couldn't believe Petrel would put her through this; the event's disorganization reflected poorly on them, and it would undermine their authority and provoke disapproval from their superior.

She began pushing through the crowd, moving toward the front. Petrel's worm was still following her, and she was tempted to turn around and snap at him, demanding that he slither off to bother someone else.

"Domino, ma'am." Another random Rocket grunt approached with a salute. "We're glad to see you here."

"Do you know anything about this?" she asked.

"No ma'am." The grunt shook his head.

"Have you seen Petrel?"

"No ma'am," the grunt repeated. Domino emitted a dangerously low growl before spinning around to face Trip again.

"What did Petrel tell you? Exactly?"

Trip straightened up, and the other Rocket grunt slipped away, lest she turn back on him and unleash her pent-up anger.

"He told me to tell you that he was calling a training session for all Team Rocket employees this morning," he answered. Trip had rehearsed this answer dozens of times already, and he had grown confident in it. "He wanted you to lead it, though."

"Did he say why?"

"No ma'am."

"And what was I supposed train them for, again?"

"What to do if you are apprehended by a G-Men agent," Trip replied plainly.

"How so?"

"I don't know, ma'am, because you haven't trained me yet."

"Don't get smart with me, kid," Domino snarled, and Trip took a moment to remind himself to stay deferential.

"I believe it was his intention for you to instruct us to resist interview tactics that would force us to yield any sensitive information about Moltres or Mewtwo," he said. "He's afraid that if one of us were captured, a G-Men agent could trick us into revealing they're here."

Domino opened her mouth to reply—but an important thought occurred to her, and she shut it again, her jaw tightening.

"How do _you_ know about Mewtwo? That's highly classified information of which only Rocket executives and a select few agents are aware."

Trip suddenly felt sick to his stomach, and though he maintained a relatively calm front, he began frantically searching for an excuse.

"Besides," Domino continued. "Mewtwo and Moltres aren't here, you twit. They're with our esteemed leader, Giovanni."

"Gi... Giovanni isn't here?" Trip's mouth ran dry. He realized that was the wrong thing to say, but it was too late to take it back.

"No," she scoffed. "He transferred offices last year after construction for the new Unova base was completed. Proton now oversees operations here."

A sense of panic began to set in, and Trip found himself too dumbfounded—or perhaps too afraid—to say anything, for fear that she would sniff him out as an imposter.

"Moreover," Domino went on, "the need to train to 'resist interview tactics' for the purpose of protecting sensitive information is irrelevant. Does Petrel not remember why we shut off the Ampharos Train? No agents get in, and no agents get out. How could the G-Men capture one the agents here and use it to find this base? They'd already have to _be_ at this base to snatch up an agent. There are serious flaws in Petrel's logic."

She paused, her eyes growing distant with thought. Then, she snapped her head back to Trip.

"What's your number, again?" she asked.

Trip took a step back, and Domino folded her arms.

"0... 0... 9..." Trip invented. Domino pursed her lips and looked away—and for a moment, just a moment, Trip held onto the glimmer of hope that she would drop it and blame Petrel, as she had done for the past half-hour.

"You know," she began, "I'm disappointed. I would've expected better from a G-Men agent."

"I'm, I'm not-" Trip started his denial as a last resort, but Domino cut him off.

"009 can't be your number," she said, "because that's _mine_."

There was nothing he could do to save it. He took off running in the opposite direction, pushing and shoving through the massive crowd of confused Rocket employees. Domino's jaw dropped, and she stomped a few steps forward before screeching:

"Get him!" She pointed in the direction where he'd gone. "He's a fraud! A spy for the G-Men!"

"Who?" a Rocket grunt called.

"The boy with the blond hair and blue eyes!"

"This guy?" Another Rocket pointed to a co-worker who matched that description. Before Domino could even correct him, someone came up behind the unfortunate look-alike and slugged him in the back of the head, knocking him down. Several other jumped on top of him, and the mass of Rockets in the room rallied around the fray, chanting, "Fight! Fight!"

"You're letting him get aw-" Domino stopped short, shaking her head. It was too late; he was already gone. She needed to explore other options. Then, with a sudden revelation, she jerked her head toward the doors.

"That announcement..." she mumbled to herself, before running off toward the PA room.

* * *

The trip to the bottom basement had thus far gone smoothly.

By the time the eleven trainers designated to meet Giovanni had all ventured into the base, the place was empty. Not a Team Rocket member was in sight; the announcement gimmick had played out perfectly.

Ash maintained a quick, though manageable pace alongside Silver, who was leading the way. The group had recently reached the second basement, and Ash was growing more anxious the closer they got to the supposed location of Giovanni's office.

It wasn't unlike that day four years ago, when he felt so lost, when he felt the challenges before him were insurmountable. Ice Island was a mile away from where he stood then, but that mile seemed to stretch a thousand. He had needed the support of his friends and Pokémon to even be willing to take the first step.

He knew he had their support even now, but the same fears still existed—doubly so, because he wasn't alone. They were putting their lives on the line, too, and that (of everything) was the worst part of it. If he failed—if he wasn't the Chosen One, if they had misplaced their faith in him—then they went down with him.

If he was alone, then at least he would fail alone.

"Did you hear that?" Zoey cut into the silence. Her question forced everyone to stop.

"Hear what?" Iris inquired.

"It sounded like there was a commotion upstairs..." Zoey said.

"I'm sure you're just being paranoid," Paul dismissed, and Zoey shot him an irritated glance.

"No, I heard it, too," Kenny jumped in. "It sounded like... shouting? Like a big fight or something?"

"Maybe one of us should go check it out and make sure nothing's wrong," Misty suggested.

"No way." Gary shook his head. "We knew things were going to get bad no matter what. Let's finish this. Right Ash?"

Ash snapped out of his daze and looked at his old friend with wide eyes, which elicited a few odd stares from his companions.

"Ash, you OK?" Barry asked.

"Ahh... yeah, I'm fine," he said, jerking his head away.

* * *

"They're here!" Ritchie broke into a grin when he saw the Ampharos Train slow to a complete stop in front of the Command Center. He bounded up to the door and unlocked it, throwing it open to greet the new arrivals. Outside, the Ampharos Train's door slid open, and there stood Candice, Cilan, and his Stunfisk.

"Good to see you guys made it," Ritchie said.

"Yeah!" Candice agreed cheerily and she hopped on the platform and headed inside. Cilan gave a tip of his invisible conductor's hat and, after recalling his Stunfisk, followed.

"So have you heard anything from the others yet?" Candice continued.

"No," Conway replied. "We've just been waiting."

"That's a shame," Cilan said. "I hope it's going well."

"You and me both," Ritchie said.

"Well, maybe we should head down to see if they need help!" Candice suggested. "It can't be easy reining in a Legendary Pokémon—two, actually."

"No, that wouldn't be smart." Cilan shook his head. "We don't know what it looks like in there, and we don't want to risk ruining everything we've worked for so far." He paused and suddenly asked, "Where's Leaf?"

"Leaf?"

"Yes, she supposed to come here after making the announcement, wasn't she?"

"We haven't seen her," Conway said.

"Maybe _she_ decided to go help the others," Candice said, hinting they should do the same.

"No, Candice," Cilan rejected the notion again. She huffed and swung her hands behind her.

"Well, let's at least take a look around here," she said. "If you're so into trains and stuff, Cilan, then being here must be like visiting an amusement park."

The connoisseur's eyes lit up.

"Oh, yes!" he enthused before prancing toward the control station. "Ah, such mechanics! It truly sets an incredible precedent for the future of transportation. It chagrins me to think we'll have to destroy it before we leave..."

"Excuse me?" Conway quirked an eyebrow. "We have to destroy it?"

Cilan nodded gravely and added, "If we don't, any Team Rocket member following us on our escape with Mewtwo and Moltres could lock up the train's wheels using the controls here and prevent us from going any further."

"How will we destroy it?" Candice asked. "Ooh, a hammer? Maybe there's a utility closet around here..."

She rubbed her chin before her eyes locked on another door near the control station. It didn't require a card key, yet when she reached out and grasped it, it was locked.

"We don't need a hammer, we just need-" Cilan stopped short when he saw Candice pluck a bobby pin from her hair and pick the lock. "Candice, let's not look for trouble."

"I'm not looking for trouble," she said, opening the door. "I'm just- _oh_."

"What is it?" Ritchie twisted his face in curiosity before he and the other two male trainers approached to see what had captured the Snowpoint Gym Leader's intrigue. They were similarly surprised to see the locked door led down a couple of steps to a small computer room. There was a long, gray desk built into the wall with one, large monitor that stretched several feet tall sitting atop it.

"Is this somehow connected to the Ampharos Train?" Candice asked.

"It doesn't look like standard fare for a command center to me..." Cilan's voice trailed off.

"Well, let's check it out," Conway said, leading the way. He moved the cursor, and the screen woke up to a message informing the user that the computer was locked. Conway pressed his lips into a hard line. He searched around a bit more and found there was actually a fingerprint identification key pad beside the keyboard.

"Conway, maybe this isn't such a good idea..." Ritchie warned, as he and the other two came down. "What if this tips off some Rocket employee that we're up here?"

"Nonsense," Conway dismissed. "This could be very helpful to us. When things are locked, it means there's something important behind it. This computer is no different."

"What are you getting at?" Candice asked.

"This computer probably contains a lot of valuable information," he continued. "You know, a big reason why the G-Men haven't been able to do anything since Hoenn is because the Rockets there destroyed paper files and wiped hard drives before anyone could get their hands on it. This could be the key to unlocking success beyond what happens today."

He bent down and began blowing warm air on the fingerprint ID pad. Cilan sighed.

"Conway, I'm afraid those tactics only work in fiction," the connoisseur said. "We're-"

The fingerprint ID pad accepted the reading, and the computer unlocked. Cilan's eyes widened.

"I stand corrected."

Conway smirked and slid into the chair.

"Let's see here..." he mused, booting the computer up. The desktop was relatively empty, and he opened up the program files to see what was available. He frowned when he discovered it was nothing beyond standard accessories and word applications. Then, on the bottom bar, he noticed a server icon and clicked on it. A new window popped up.

'_Access server Project Legendary. Please type in your password._'

"Project Legendary?" Ritchie appalled. "That's the thing! Silver said that was the name of the cloning project for Mewtwo!"

"And Butch and Cassidy mentioned it again that one time we ran into them," Cilan added, "which means it's still ongoing."

"A password, though?" Candice inquired. "What would the password be?"

"Well, we could try..." Conway typed in the eight-digit number that had carried them thus far: 1-2-2-4-1-9-8-7.

'_Access granted_.'

* * *

May craned her neck once she and Petrel entered the training ground, trying to see whether she could catch sight of Trip. She was disappointed when she couldn't find him, and then she cast a wary glance toward Petrel, who seemed horrified upon seeing the scene before him. There had been a fight, and on the ground laid a male in his late teens, battered and bleeding.

"What happened?" Petrel demanded as he approached the Rockets standing near the injured male. May shuddered at the sight and wondered why anyone wasn't doing anything. His breathing was ragged, and if no one helped him, he'd most certainly die.

"Madam Domino said there was an imposter here," one said. "We did what we had to do."

Petrel then cast a cold eye toward the boy before flicking his gaze toward the Rocket again.

"Where did she go?" he asked.

"Uh... out those doors..." Another Rocket pointed his finger. "I think she said something about an announcement?"

Petrel frowned before turning to May.

"Veronica, please excuse me," he said. "This is my job, though. You go ahead and stay here. I'm going to go find Domino." He looked up at the rest of Rockets in the room.

"As for all of you," he began in a booming voice, "if any of you try to leave—" He gestured to the male of the ground. "Take note."

The room waited in silence as he left; then, they turned away from the injured male on the ground, and hushed conversation regarding the apparent intrusion and its consequences began. May stared after everyone, feeling ill. She looked down at the bleeding male again before sinking to her knees to talk to him. His glazed eyes drifted toward her.

"It... It wasn't me..." he wheezed. He was missing several teeth. "I'm not... a fake. I'd never... I couldn't. This is all I've got, why would I... ?"

May breathed in sharply, resisting the urge to break down into tears.

"I know," she said. "I'm sorry."

* * *

"I heard something."

"Arceus Zoey, not again," Paul growled. "Are we going to stop every time you hear a bump upstairs?"

"No, it sounds like wings flapping," Zoey fought back. "It's a Pokémon, and that Pokémon probably has a trainer."

"Well, in that case," Iris began, snatching up one of her Pokéballs and enlarging it. "You guys go ahead. I'll hold whoever it is off."

"Iris!" Ash spoke up in protest.

"I'll be fine, Ash."

"I don't want you to get hurt!" There was brief flicker of surprise in the Dragon-type trainer's expression, but she quickly recovered.

"Don't worry about me," she reassured him. "You guys just go get Mewtwo and Moltres. I'll be fine."

"Ash, come on," Misty added her own brand of encouragement, grasping his shoulder. He glanced back at her urgently before looking at Iris again and nodding. As the group dispersed, Iris faced the direction from which their potential enemy was coming.

"Excadrill, come on out!"

"Exca!" The Ground-type bared its claws and readied its stance for battle. Then, the source of the wing flapping made itself known; an Unfezant was flying toward them.

"Excadrill, use Focus Blast!" Iris ordered, and her Subterrene Pokémon quickly prepared one of its blue spheres and launched it at the Flying-type. The Unfezant dove out of the way, though it appeared shocked by the attack. Iris was about to order that Excadrill use another Focus Blast, but she stopped when she heard a familiar voice cry out:

"Hey! Friendly fire! Don't battle that Unfezant!"

Iris mentally stumbled.

"_Trip_?"

The trainer in question emerged following his Unfezant, gasping to catch his breath. He had been running.

"Where are the others?" he asked after giving himself moment. "We've got to get out of here."

* * *

"No, no!" Ash stopped again, shaking his head vigorously. "D'you hear that? That was Iris yelling!"

He and Paul were alone; they had temporarily separated from the others during their escape into hiding.

"Yeah, I heard," Paul answered flatly.

"Well, we've got to do something!" Ash persisted. "She could be in trouble!"

"What is it with you today?" Paul gave him the strangest look. "I know you're you, but you've got to stop worrying about us and start worrying about Mewtwo and Moltres."

"We've got to check on her," Ash continued, ignoring his rival's admonition. Paul emitted a low growl.

"All right. Fine," he said. "I'll see what's up. _You_ stay here."

Paul hurried away, and Ash furrowed his eyebrows with a half-satisfied smile. He then turned to continue onward, and Pikachu, baffled, called after him.

"Don't worry," Ash said, looking down at his partner. "This is what I want. Are you coming?"

Pikachu did a double-take between his trainer and where Paul had left before letting out a sigh. He knew Ash would do whatever he wanted—and no matter what, he wanted to be there with him.

* * *

"What do you mean Giovanni's _not here_?" Gary fumed as he spoke with Trip. Others had also heard Iris's call and gone to investigate. Paul was the last to join the group huddle.

"Exactly that," Trip pressed. "Domino said so herself. He transferred offices last year."

"_What_?" Silver's eyes widened. "To _where_?"

"Unova."

"So all of this," Drew began, frustrated, "the past two months, everything we've gone through so far—all for nothing? Because we've been heading in the _wrong_ _direction_?"

A low rumble emerged from the back of Paul's throat. He was just as disgruntled as the rest to find out their months-long sacrifice had been pointless. He also knew there was nothing that could be done about it, though, and he turned to go retrieve Ash.

"I'm not exactly thrilled either," Trip grumbled. "But the good news is that Domino didn't realize who I was. She thinks I'm a G-Men agent, so this is still a completely amendable situation, as long as we get out as soon as possible—and hopefully without being seen."

"Well, Cilan and Candice have got to be here by now, right?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah, it'll be fine!" Barry nodded quickly, though it seemed he was trying to reassure himself more than the others.

"No, not fine." The group's attention redirected to Paul. It was then that Misty realized it was the Veilstone trainer with whom Ash had been when they split from Iris, and that now Ash was nowhere to be seen. Her gut clenched.

"Paul, where's Ash?" she asked before he could say anything further.

"Gone."

"What do you mean _gone_?" Dawn seemed a twinge bit scared, too.

"I mean as in he ran off," Paul answered. "Pikachu, too. I left them behind when I came to see what Iris was yelling about, and he wandered off. Now I don't know where he is."

"You _lost_ him?" Trip sounded exasperated. "There are ten of you here, and you couldn't keep track of one person?"

"I told him to stay."

"He isn't a Lillipup!" Misty retorted.

"At least, not an obedient one," Gary muttered under his breath before saying, "Calm down Misty, he couldn't have gone too far. You guys go ahead and get up to the Command Center to warn the others and tell Cilan to power up the Ampharos Train. Paul, Silver, and myself will stay behind to find Ash."

"What about May?" Drew pressed. "We can't forget May. She's still with Petrel."

"Then you take a chunk of the group and go find her. Maybe try to signal her to sneak away and meet you," Gary suggested. Drew nodded, and the group hesitantly separated, though Misty lingered behind a moment longer to speak with Paul.

"I'm coming with you," she declared.

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am."

"_No_, you're not," Paul repeated firmly. "The others are waiting. Be safe."

"I didn't come here to be safe," Misty growled.

"Yeah, none of us did," he fought back. "_Go_."

"Misty, come on!" Iris called from a distance as she and the others headed out, and the redhead folded. Paul then turned back toward Gary and Silver, and he shot the gray-eyed male a particularly cold glare before pressing past him. Gary, too, gave the boy a wary glance before following Paul, and Silver let out a long breath.

* * *

"What's Ash doing alone?" Leaf was horrified when she saw the boy sneak into her view from the window. Pikachu was on his shoulder, and together, they were moving discreetly across the open space. She was temped to bang on the window to get his attention and ask where the others were—but before she could, an unfamiliar voice from behind grabbed her attention.

"Ash who?"

Leaf's breath cut short. Her fists balled for a moment; then, she turned around to face her visitor and folded her arms, shifting her weight over to one hip.

"Hello, Domino." Not a trace of her apprehension could be found in her expression. She had transitioned perfectly into a casual, easygoing demeanor; it was a tactic to give her the upper hand. To be scared or angry would be to lose control—and Leaf, like her mentor back at the Indigo Plateau, valued control above all else.

"How do you know my name?" Domino demanded.

"That," Leaf began curtly, "is information I'm not willing to share with you."

"Oh, so you like to play games, do you?" Domino mirrored Leaf, also folding her arms.

"Games _are_ fun."

"Aren't they?" Domino coated her voice with false cordiality. She was leveling herself with Leaf, of which the young G-Men agent took note. Leaf became unnerved upon the realization that her opponent knew how to play ball. "That run-around you and blondie gave me must have been quite fun for both of you. Not so much for me, unfortunately."

"Don't be such a sore loser."

"Oh, don't be mistaken, miss G-Men agent—" Leaf didn't flinch when Domino said the word. "—this game is far from over."

Domino pulled a Pokéball out, and Leaf smirked.

"Now that's a game I like to play," the agent said, retrieving her own Pokéball. "Go, Ivysaur!"

"Come on out, Houndoom!"

Leaf frowned. Her Ivysaur was at a major type disadvantage, but neither she nor her closest Pokémon were deterred. The Houndoom bared its teeth at the Grass-type, but Ivysaur confidently raised his head and let out a growl of his own.

"Houndoom, use Flamethrower!" Domino quickly called the first move.

"Dodge Ivysaur!"

Ivysaur skittered out of the way, and Leaf found she, too, had to jump aside to avoid the fiery blaze. She then shot a glare at Domino; she and her Houndoom were playing dirty, though she supposed she shouldn't have expected anything less.

"Ivysaur, use Vine Whip to grab onto Houndoom and bring him down!" Ivysaur obeyed and quickly shot its vines toward the Dark Pokémon. Houndoom attempted to dodge, but Ivysaur's vines followed him and grabbed onto his front and hind legs, tripping him up and causing him to be painfully slammed against the ground. "Now use Razor Leaf!"

"Houndoom, use Crunch to get away!" Domino ordered as soon as Ivysaur's onslaught began. Houndoom, despite the storm of leaves, chomped down on one of Ivysaur's vines. The Seed Pokémon yelped in pain and immediately loosened his hold.

"Now Houndoom, use Headbutt!" The Fire-type charged toward Ivysaur and knocked him into his trainer. Leaf fell back against the broadcast table and hit her head against the edge. Her vision went fuzzy upon impact, and her hand instinctively moved back to check the damage. A warm liquid seeped through her fingers, and she realized she was bleeding.

Ivysaur, meanwhile, had skidded across the top of the broadcast table and passed out.

Before Leaf had any time to straighten out her jumbled thoughts, Domino had recalled her Houndoom and, approaching Leaf, grabbed her by the shirt.

"How many other G-Men agents are there here?" she snarled.

"You're..." Leaf blinked, feeling her head spin. "You're sadly mistaken if you think I'm going to tell you that."

Domino pulled a Black Tulip from her belt, and Leaf, in her dazed stated, was initially confused—then she realized the bulb was actually a hilt to a thin dagger.

"I'll ask one more time," Domino hissed. "How many G-Men agents are there here?"

"Just one."

"You're lying."

"I'm not."

Domino's patience snapped, and she raised the Tulip dagger to slit her throat. It was at that precise moment, however, that Ivysaur came around and saw his trainer in mortal danger. He dove straight for Domino's arm, biting into the fabric of her long, white gloves. Ivysaur's teeth were hardly sharp enough to puncture the article of clothing, but his actions caught Domino by surprise, and her arm dropped and instead accidentally sliced across Leaf's lower abdomen.

Leaf let out a gasp, and she immediately curled into a ball on the ground when Domino let her go, clutching her belly.

"You runt!" Domino screeched at Ivysaur before violently shaking him off. Ivysaur made a smooth landing and prepared himself to defend his trainer's life.

The door flew open, though, and Petrel flew in with his Raticate at his side.

"Raticate, use Sucker Punch!" he immediately ordered upon processing the scene. Ivysaur tried to dodge, but Raticate ended up landing a direct hit. Then, without his trainer's order, Raticate bit into Ivysaur's neck with Hyper Fang. Ivysaur let out an agonizing cry before sinking to the ground, defeated.

"Domino! What happened?" Petrel asked angrily.

"The G-Men are here." Domino jerked her head toward him. "One of their agents tried distracting me, probably so this girl here could get into the PA room and send us all to the training hall. Was there anyone doing the same for you?"

Petrel stopped, and he furrowed his eyebrows.

"Yes... I think so," he said with gritted teeth. "Why would they send us to the training hall?"

"To clear the base, obviously," Domino answered. "They're looking for something. This one—" She gestured to Leaf, who was shaking on the floor. "—was saying something about an 'Ash' on the bottom basement when I came in here."

"What would they be looking for?"

"I-" Domino stopped. She was about to say 'I don't know,' but inspiration struck, and she realized the answer. "Mewtwo and Moltres. For whatever reason, they thought Mewtwo and Moltres were here, and they wanted to rescue them."

"So what do we do?"

"You go get your rat," Domino said. "I'll go find this 'Ash.'"

"What about her?" Petrel flicked his head toward Leaf. Domino gave her one last look and scoffed.

"Don't worry about her," she said coldly. "She's as good as dead."

* * *

When Ash found it—the door leading to Giovanni's office—he couldn't help but stop for a moment. It loomed above him, like a beast rising up and warning him to turn back lest he die. Ash _was_ daunted, but he did not look away. He stood in limbo between the friends that were undoubtedly looking for him, and Mewtwo, who had called him here.

He had no choice. There was no running away, though it was not destiny or willpower that pushed him forward. It was obligation, and he ignored this final warning sign.

"Pika..." Pikachu mumbled apprehensively as Ash reached out to open the door.

He came face-to-face with the back of a tall swivel chair, and Ash readied one of his Pokéballs.

"Domino? Petrel? Good you're here, I've been meaning to ask-"

Ash felt his heart drop into the pit of his stomach. It had been several months since his last vision and even longer since the confrontation on top of Mt. Quena, but that voice definitely did not belong to Giovanni. It was younger, still smooth and eloquent, but it was pitched a note higher than the low bass Ash could recall from his first dream, the night before he set off for Kanto for the holidays.

He didn't look like Giovanni, either. He had sharp, gray eyes, teal hair, and youthful build. The Rocket—Proton—also realized that Ash looked like neither Domino nor Petrel.

"Who are you?" Proton demanded immediately, starting a new sentence. "What are you doing here?"

Ash found himself unable to speak, and Pikachu stepped up. The Electric-type leapt to ground in front of his trainer, cheeks sparking.

"A Pikachu?" Proton appalled, rising to his feet. "You... no, it's impossible, you're supposed to be dead. I was the one who marked those files on that list."

"A list?" Ash finally found his voice again.

"_The list_!" Proton hissed, now angry. "The list with the trainers that Giovanni needed dead or incapacitated before we could fully engage Project Legendary! There's not doubt about it; I recognize you now. You're the trainer with the famous Pikachu, the one who helped Mewtwo escape our clutches in Johto! The one those idiot Rocket agents have tracked _for years_!"

Ash took a step back, repeating that last sentence in his head. '_The one those idiot Rocket agents have tracked for years..._'

"You're _Ash Ketchum_," Proton finally finished.

"I am," Ash finally owned up to it, "and I'm here for Mewtwo!"

Proton looked utterly baffled upon this declaration, but before he had even the chance to formulate a response within his mind, another voice from behind Ash called out:

"Arcanine, use Fire Spin!"

Proton's eyes widened before he dove behind his desk to avoid the attack. Ash fell back onto the ground to avoid the flames, too. He then looked behind him wildly to see that Gary had called the attack, and that a rather angry Paul was stalking toward him.

"You son of a bitch," the Veilstone trainer swore, grabbing Ash by the arm and yanking him toward the door. "When I said 'stay here,' what did you think I meant? Gary, let's go."

Gary nodded and recalled Arcanine. Proton staggered to his feet once the three started to make their way out, but their disappearance was replaced with Silver's arrival. His Sneasel bounded forward with a Shadow Claw at the ready, and Proton fell back into his seat as the Ice-type pressed his purplish hand to his neck.

"Kamon!" Proton gasped as Silver approached. "What are you-"

"-Where is my father?" Silver demanded, cutting him off.

"He changed offices."

"Don't lie to me." Sneasel turned his claws toward Proton's neck upon his trainer's prompting. The ghostly chill of the Shadow Claw caused Proton to shiver.

"I'm not lying. He's in Unova now."

"There is no Rocket base in Unova."

"You left more than two years ago, Kamon," Proton retorted. "Is it so hard to believe?"

Silver backed off and gestured for his Sneasel to do the same. He turned to leave, and Proton's hand immediately went for his neck, rubbing it tenderly. Then, an infuriating thought—perhaps a revelation—occurred to him, and he foolishly called out:

"_Why would you betray us_?"

Silver stopped, and his temper broke. He whipped his head around and order his Sneasel to use a Slash attack.

* * *

Drew groused under his breath when he, along with several others who had gone with him to find May, was greeted by an empty cafeteria.

"I thought Silver said May and Petrel came here!" Dawn panicked.

"Yeah, well, there are things Silver said that didn't turn out to be true," Kenny muttered bitterly.

"Don't be that way right now, Kenny," Zoey admonished harshly. "She and Petrel heard the announcement like everyone else. They probably went to the training room."

"Right." Drew nodded quickly. "Then let's hurry up there."

* * *

May's head hung low as she walked alongside Petrel. He had pulled her out of the training hall, for reasons she didn't question or even consider. She was too distraught, having the battered face of that Rocket boy etched into her mind. Petrel had ordered two grunts within the training hall 'take care' of the boy before he left again, this time with May in tow.

The same order—or perhaps threat—still stood for the hundred or so Rocket employees in that room; if anyone tried to leave, they would face the same fate.

"I'm very sorry you had to see that," Petrel began as he led May out the doors. "Such a sight is not appropriate for lady like you."

He hardly sounded sympathetic, but May didn't notice, much less say anything. He frowned.

"You know, it really says something that you'd be so concerned for even a traitor," Petrel said. May blinked and looked up at him.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

"Don't worry about him," Petrel continued. "We are a home to the lost and downtrodden, but we have no mercy for those who betray or attempt to bring us down."

"Oh..." May looked away. Petrel tilted his head and gave a warm smile.

"So, what is your story, Veronica?"

"My story?"

"Why did you join Team Rocket?" Petrel asked. "We all have our reasons for coming here. It's unusual to see a woman your age as a new recruit, though. You're in your 20s, right?"

"Yes, 24," May answered. She attempted to clear her mind and get back into her character.

"Interesting," Petrel mused. "You still haven't answered my question."

May gave a cute shrug.

"Oh, you know... I was a coordinator. I wasn't, um, very good though. It wasn't a sustainable career for me anymore, so I had to explore other options."

"A coordinator, huh?"

May nodded.

"You know what they say about coordinators?"

"I don't know. What do they say?" May smiled.

Petrel's expression suddenly deadpanned.

"They're good actors."

Without warning, he quickly rose his hand and struck her. May stumbled back and fell onto the ground, her eyes misting with shock. The heated taste of copper filled her mouth, and she coughed in repulsion as a dribble of blood spilled from her lips. The edge of his ring had cut her when he hit her, but she didn't have a moment to even process this fact as Petrel roughly grabbed her arm and forced her to stand.

"I'll admit, you had me fooled for a while," he snarled, "but I can see through your act now: You're a G-Men agent, just like your comrade back there in the training hall."

May wanted to protest, to explain the near-dead boy back in the room was one of their own, but the words drowned in the blood in her mouth.

"Masquerain, use Silver Wind!"

The powerful gust blew Petrel and May apart. May quickly looked to her left, immediately recognizing the voice; Drew, Dawn, Zoey, Barry, and Kenny had come to her rescue.

"All right Hitmonlee, use Mega Kick on that purple-haired guy!" Barry ordered. Before Petrel could stand and retaliate with one of his own Pokémon, Barry's Hitmonlee came flying at him with one leg outstretched. The Fighting-type hit him squarely in the chest, knocking his breath out him before he hit the wall and was knocked unconscious, too.

"May!" Dawn seemed as though she were on the verge of crying as she helped her friend up and hugged her tightly. "Are you OK?"

She didn't answer, opting to ask, "Did you get them? Did you get Mewtwo and Moltres?"

Zoey frowned at the girl and shook her head.

"No," the Snowpoint trainer answered. "Giovanni isn't here, May."

"He... he..."

"We'll explain more later." Drew came up beside Dawn and grasped May's shoulders. Anger swelled within him seeing the blood that dripped down her chin and stained her shirt, and his hands shook slightly. "But we have to get up to the Ampharos Train now."

* * *

The Command Center, upon first glance, was empty when Misty, Trip, and Iris arrived. The Ampharos Train waited outside with open doors, and the control station was powered up with its blinking lights and large, glowing screen—yet, no one was manning them.

Iris bit her lip, fearing the worst.

"Cilan? Ritchie? Guys? Are you there?" she called out.

Suddenly, Cilan scampered out a half-open door the arriving trio had failed to notice. He had flushed pink, embarrassed.

"So sorry! So sorry!" he quickly apologized, heading for the train outside. "I had become so distracted that I neglected my responsibilities. For shame! Don't worry, I'll have the Ampharos Train ready to go for our escape ASAP."

"Whoa, whoa," Misty called after him. "Calm down! We're not ready to go yet! There are still some of us that need to get here!"

Cilan paused, blinking. He had Stunfisk's Pokéball already in his hand, but Misty's reassurance eased him to put it away and come back inside.

"Where's everyone else?" he asked. "Why is it just you three?"

"They're catching up," Trip answered. "We came here to warn-"

"-Hey!" Ritchie appeared in the doorway of the room from which Cilan had run out. "What happened? Where is everyone?"

"What are you guys doing in there?" Misty asked, skipping over his question for later.

"Ah..."

"Maybe it's better if we show you," Cilan answered for him, gesturing toward where Ritchie stood.

Iris, Misty, and Trip all exchanged quick glances before heading over. Ritchie swung the door open, inviting them into the secluded computer lab. Conway's and Candice's gazes were enraptured by the large monitor, which had a large, digitally annotated map of Unova blown up across it.

"What is this?" Trip asked, confused.

"Conway managed to get us into the Project Legendary server," Candice replied.

"Project Legendary?" Misty sucked in her breath. "Isn't that the cloning project for Mewtwo that Silver mentioned?"

"It's more than that," Conway corrected. "I'm still piecing it together, but it appears to be an all-encompassing title for both the cloning project that created Mewtwo and the subsequent actions taken by Team Rocket to control him, use him to eliminate their enemies, and wield his power to capture other Legendary Pokémon for the purpose of undermining the G-Men and gaining total political power."

"That... seems pretty well-pieced together," Iris said.

"It certainly does give us a more complete picture of the project, more than what Silver described." Conway adjusted his glasses. "And it confirms what Leaf hypothesized—you were targeted."

He turned back toward the computer screen, minimized the map of Unova, and opened a folder containing sixteen PDF files. He highlighted all the files and opened them simultaneously, creating a train of new windows. Misty breathed out in shock.

"Arceus," she awed. The first file on the screen was a document with a grayscale photo of herself that had a large, red 'DECEASED' stamped across it. To the right was all her basic information—her full name, her birthdate, her trainer class, her hometown, and a list of all her Pokémon. At the bottom, in the comments section, were some vague notes about her being a Water-type Pokémon specialist plus a mention of her presence at Mt. Quena in Johto. Next to her name was an orange dot.

Conway minimized that window and brought up the next file—this one belonging to Brock. Rather than deceased, his photo read 'INACTIVE.' An orange dot was also next to his name.

"It's a hit list," Iris realized, horrified.

"Right," Conway nodded, moving onto the next file: Ritchie's. Instead of orange, a yellow dot was next to his name.

"What are with those colors?" Misty asked. "Mine and Brock's names had orange next to them. Ritchie's has yellow."

"I can only speculate, but it seems to be a sort of priority system," Conway explained. "There are three colors: Red, orange, and yellow. Red is highest priority, yellow is lowest. Eight people are marked yellow, seven are marked orange, and one is marked red."

"Let me guess: Ash is red." Trip folded his arms.

"Yup."

"Why are there only sixteen files though?" Misty asked after she had a moment to process. "Shouldn't there be seventeen? Is Tracey or Max not on there?"

"No, they're here." Conway pulled up their files. Both were yellow.

"Then is someone missing? Or am I doing my math wrong?" Misty pressed. "Let's see, there's Ash, Brock, Gary, myself, May, Dawn-"

"It's me." Misty and the others looked at Trip in surprise. "I'm the one missing, right?"

Silence.

Cilan and Iris exchanged quick glances. They both had the same thing on their mind: the day they went with Alder to retrieve Trip from his home in Nuvema Town. They had implored he should come with them to Pallet Town, saying he was in danger. Trip had thought otherwise then.

"How did you know?" Conway inquired.

"I had a feeling." Trip looked away. "We really need to tell you guys-"

"-Hey! Is anyone in here?" Barry's voice called from the other room, and Trip appeared mildly irritated that he had again been cut off from sharing their mission's unfortunate development

"Ah! We're here!" Cilan hurried out of the computer lab for a second time. "I'm so sorry! I got distracted and- oh, I should know by now! I'll open the door so you can get Mewtwo and Moltres-"

"-Cilan!" Iris called, following him out. "Don't..."

She found him standing dumbfounded before their six new arrivals—Drew, Barry, Kenny, Zoey, Dawn, and May, whose hand was clutched over her mouth. The trickles of blood had begun to congeal and dry, but the sight was no less unsettling. Several questions went through Cilan's mind, and he didn't know which to address first; so, he addressed all of them at once.

"Where are Ash, Paul, Gary, Silver, and Leaf? Where are Mewtwo and Moltres? May, _why are you bleeding_?"

"OK," Zoey began slowly, "one at a time." She then glanced toward Iris. "You didn't tell them?"

"Tell us what?" Candice asked as she and Ritchie joined the larger group.

Iris let out a long sigh.

"Guys," she began, a little dejectedly, "Mewtwo and Moltres aren't here. Trip found out from Domino that Giovanni moved offices like a year ago to Unova."

"You're serious?" Ritchie's face fell.

"To Unova?" Candice, on the other hand, perked up. "That makes sense, then! Conway, did you hear that? Giovanni's in Unova! That's probably why-"

"-OK, Candice," Trip interrupted, coming up beside the Snowpoint Gym Leader. "I'm going to cut you off right there, because we really need to straighten this out—" He gestured toward Cilan and the six new arrivals, all of whom were wearing confused expressions. "—before we get sucked back into that Project Legendary server, as fascinating as it is."

"I'm lost," Kenny said.

"Join the club," Trip retorted. "To answer your question, Cilan: Gary, Paul, and Silver are down there looking for Ash because he went off on his own without realizing that Giovanni's not actually here."

"What about Leaf?" Cilan looked back toward the six. "Where's Leaf?"

"Um... wasn't she supposed to be here?" Dawn asked.

"She's not."

"Well, that's not good." Drew frowned.

"Someone's gotta go find her then," Barry said. "Someone's gotta tell her that Mewtwo and Moltres aren't here and that we gotta bail."

"Ritchie and I can go," Iris volunteered after exchanging an affirmative glance with the Frodomar City trainer. "She made the announcement, right? Maybe she got held up?"

Zoey seemed a little unsure.

"I don't know about that," she said. "This whole thing's already a mess. We knocked out Petrel, but we have no idea where Domino is, and we should still be nervous over Ash being missing. Leaf's a big girl, and I think we just have to trust that she can take care of herself before we split up again."

"What if she's in trouble in, though?" Ritchie pressed.

"Yeah, we'll be really quick," Iris assured her. "We'll just check the PA room. If she's not there, then... we'll assume she met up with Paul and the others and is helping them out."

Zoey still didn't seem fully convinced, but she stepped aside and let Iris and Ritchie pass anyway. She then turned back to Cilan.

"You should start up the Ampharos Train," she said point blank, and Cilan nodded before hurrying outside. She then glanced at May. "And can someone please get this poor girl a tissue or something?"

* * *

Ash had never felt more terrible in his life as Paul dragged him by the arm up the stairwell with Gary jogging behind them. Under normal circumstances, Ash would've insisted he let go—that it was OK, that he wasn't going to slip away again—but he knew his Sinnoh rival had every right to be furious, considering the bomb he and Gary had dropped on him.

"_Mewtwo and Moltres aren't here_."

Ash had turned a poor, but fixable situation into an unfixable one. Despite the utter disappointment of their two-month journey across Johto to Sinnoh being for naught, the one ameliorating factor was that Domino had not figured out that Trip was one of the fourteen trainers who died. They had the opportunity to escape while clinging to their deceased identities, their shield against Team Rocket's larger forces—and Ash had blown it.

"Where were you?" Paul snapped when Silver caught up with the trio.

"Taking care of business," Silver replied shortly.

"What business?" Gary asked.

"If you had waited for me, you'd know."

"Well, we're not exactly keen on waiting on you right now," Paul said. Silver looked at the two disbelievingly, realizing they now distrusted him.

"I was looking for answers about Unova," Silver clarified. Paul turned his head slightly, suspicious. Ash exchanged quick glances between both him and his half-brother, unsure of what to say, but despising every moment they lingered in this conversation.

"We'll get into this later," Gary said. "The others are waiting."

"So that girl _was_ lying." The four trainers jerked their head toward the top of the stairwell, where Domino stood. "There is more than one G-Men agent here."

Silver retreated back, lowering his head to hide his face. Domino didn't seem to pay attention to him, however. Her gaze focused on Ash, instead, and her eyes widened.

"Oh Mew," she realized. "_Ash_. She meant Ash Ketchum."

"Who meant 'Ash Ketchum?'" Gary demanded.

"And you..." She pressed her lips together. "I recognize your faces from the files, too: Gary Oak and Paul Rebolledo. How are you alive?"

"Feraligatr, use Hydro Pump!" Domino's ignorance of Silver turned out to be a major mistake, as a powerful jet of water caught her off-guard and rammed her into the wall.

"Arceus, Silver." Gary was mildly surprised he had resorted to such a ruthless tactic. Silver didn't respond as he ascended the few stairs toward the seemingly unconscious woman. Domino stirred as he approached and looked at him with a dazed expression, finally acknowledging him.

"Kamon... ?" she inquired, though only Silver could hear. His gaze hardened, and he flicked his head toward Feraligatr. Understanding the order, the Water-type raised its claws.

Ash breathed in sharply when realization of what was happening hit him.

"No! Silver!" He tore away from Paul's grasp. "Don't let him kill her!"

Silver blinked and looked back at his brother, who had grabbed his arm. He was confused; he couldn't fathom why Ash would care to save the life of a Team Rocket member, one who wouldn't hesitate to kill any of them no less. Feraligatr grunted and glanced back at his trainer, wondering whether he should proceed. Silver gestured for him to stand down.

Paul and Gary watched the scene unfold before them wordlessly, though both seemed equally disturbed.

"Let's... go..." Paul finally said.

Silver recalled his Feraligatr and casually dropped the Pokéball into his pocket. He then shook off Ash and brushed passed Domino's weak form as if the situation were nothing. Ash looked after him for a long moment, then at Gary and Paul, before following.

As soon as they were gone, Domino, despite the aching pain in her back and head, staggered to her feet and rushed for the training hall.

* * *

"_Arceus_."

Horror filled Ritchie's voice when he and Iris happened upon the gruesome scene before them. Leaf was lying on the ground, motionless. A small pool of blood had formed near her gut. Ivysaur was still out-cold beside his trainer.

"Leaf!" Iris shrieked before she and Ritchie dove to her side. She fumbled to find a pulse as Ritchie turned her over to search for the source of her bleeding. There was a gash across her lower abdomen, though he had no idea how deep it was or whether it had harmed any of her internal organs. The morbid reassurance he gave himself was that at least he couldn't see her intestines falling out.

"She's still breathing," Iris said, shaking.

Ritchie nodded, only somewhat relieved as he tore of his jacket and pressed it against her abdomen. Almost immediately, red began permeating the green fabric.

"We've got to get her to the others," Iris insisted. "She needs help."

"Yeah," Ritchie agreed. He reached under Leaf's backside and moving her into a sitting position before grabbing underneath her legs and lifting her up. "You get Ivysaur, I'll take her."

* * *

"Fifteen!" Domino screeched as she stumbled into the training room full of lost-looking Rocket agents. "Fifteen of you idiots get your Pokémon ready and follow me!"

"But Domino, ma'am, Petrel said-"

"I don't care what Petrel said," she snarled. "Fifteen. _Now_."

* * *

Cilan tapped his fingers against the edge of the Ampahros's sliding door nervously. Everyone present had boarded the train, and now they were waiting for their few last companions to return. Stunfisk sat in the conductor's seat, ready to go whenever his trainer needed him.

The connoisseur glanced into the passenger car to see how everyone was settling. Conway had downloaded everything he could possibly fit from the Project Legendary server onto a flash drive, and he now waited anxiously, drumming his hands on his thighs. Drew sat beside May with his arm around her, watching her with concern as she kept a white (well, it used to be white) cloth pressed to her lips.

"Where are they?" Zoey sighed, coming up beside the Striaton trainer. "I swear, I'm going to pull out my hair. I'm so nervous."

"Don't worry, Zoe-Zoe, I'm sure they're on their way," Candice reassured her.

"Still, at least Iris and Ritchie should've been back by now..." Zoey continued. "And who knows whether Paul and the others have even found Ash yet? What a headache..."

Then, as if by cue, the door inside the Command Center opened up, and in came Gary, Ash, Paul, and Silver. Misty saw them enter through the window of the passenger's car, and she jumped to her feet and ran out to meet them.

"Mew, Ash!" She tackled him with a relieved hug, and he stumbled back, unprepared for her greeting. "You had me and everyone else so worried!"

Ash flushed pink and tentatively lifted his arm to hug her back.

"Aw, don't worry Mist', I-"

He was cut short when she pulled away and slapped him across the face.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" Her demeanor had completely shifted to one of anger. "You can't run off like that! What was even going through your head?"

He cast his eyes toward the ground, ashamed.

"I..."

"We can discuss this later," Paul cut in. "We need to go now, because your boyfriend here made himself known to Proton, so we're no longer dead. That information is going to climb the chain to Giovanni. It's a done deal."

"_What_?" Misty glared at Ash again.

"Sorry!" he apologized quickly. "I didn't know Giovanni wasn't here! And Leaf said keeping up with the whole dead thing wouldn't matter today!"

"Yeah, it wasn't going to matter because we were planning on having a Mewtwo and Moltres on our side," Gary explained. "We were going to strip Team Rocket of their ammunition. Since that obviously didn't work out, we have nothing going for us."

Suddenly, the door flung open again, and Silver instinctively reached for a Pokéball as he turned on his heel, expecting to see that Domino had followed them. Instead, Iris and Ritchie stumbled inside with the latter carrying a pale and limp Leaf.

"Oh Arceus," Gary breathed, whitening. He rushed toward them, and he pressed his hand to her clammy face. "Ritchie, what happened?"

"We found her like this." Ritchie's voice wavered slightly. Seeing that the Frodomar trainer had grown tired from hoisting her dead weight all the way up the stairs, Gary reached under Leaf's backside and relieved him. Ritchie's shirt and hands had streaks of red across them.

"Ivysaur's hurt pretty badly, too," Iris added, cradling the Grass-type in her arms.

Ash swallowed the bile in his throat, swearing he would throw up. His hands began shaking. Silver also let out an uneven breath, but he whipped his head back toward the door when he heard a storm of footsteps.

"They're coming," he said seriously. "Get on the train."

Silver released his Alakazam, and Cilan stepped up to the platform and called out, "You've got to destroy the control station!"

Paul took that duty upon himself, as he released his Ursaring and ordered him to use Hammer Arm. The Hibernator Pokémon immediately obeyed and slammed the lower half of its powered limb on the table, causing electrical sparks to fly. Then, without his trainer's prompting, he clenched his fist as he put a hole through the screen hanging above.

"Nice job, Ursaring," Paul commended before returning the Normal-type and heading for the train.

There were multiple sickened gasps when Gary carried Leaf into the passenger's car, and he sunk down to his knees with her still in his arms, laying her out so others could jump in and help care for her.

Then, for the first time, she stirred. She lolled her head toward Gary, on whose lap her head was resting.

"Ah... Ash..." was her only word. Ash, standing nearby, pressed his closed fists to his face as guilt and shame sunk their teeth deeper into his unopened veins. It wasn't fair; with all his intentions, it just wasn't fair, and in that moment, Ash had never hated himself more.

"It's OK," Gary reassured her, petting her hair. He was partially relieved; a word, even though it was just a word, meant there was still life in her. "He's here. We're all here now."

Leaf seemed to nod before closing her eyes again. Gary bit his lip before looking up at Candice, who seemed at a complete loss as to what she should do.

"We have to contact the G-Men," he told her firmly.

"What about Silver?" Candice asked.

"Frankly, I don't care about Silver right now, or the promise to him." Anger lined Gary's voice. "All I know is that we need Lance's help _now_. Domino's on our tail, and it shouldn't be long before Giovanni hears the news."

Candice sucked in her breath and nodded resolutely.

"My Dodrio can take me down the mountain, back to Snowpoint," she said. "I have Cynthia's number still."

"Good. Go."

Candice turned and pulled out her Dodrio's Pokéball, but before exiting the train, she pulled Zoey aside and enveloped her in a tight embrace.

"Please be safe," the Snowpoint City Gym Leader said. Zoey appeared mildly confused at first.

"We will," the redhead replied. "Are you going somewhere?"

"To get you guys help," Candice answered shortly. Zoey nodded and watched her friend jump off the platform, call out her Pokémon, and hop onto his back. Dodrio immediately took off.

Meanwhile, Silver waited with his Alakazam as Domino and her team of Rocket agents burst through the door.

"Alakazam, use Psychic to hold them back!" The Psi Pokémon's attack managed to stop several of the agents in their tracks, but his power couldn't completely hold such a large number off. Several, including Domino, fought through the resistance.

"You... traitor..." she growled, stepping toward him, despite the faint, blue glow that showed Alakazam's attempts to lock them into place. Seeing Silver's predicament, Ash called for Pikachu and they jumped onto the platform and ran back into the Command Center.

"Ash!" Cilan cried out. Stunfisk had started powering up the train, and it wouldn't be long before they'd be moving.

Domino's Houndoom was the first to shake off Alakazam's Psychic, and he wasted no time in launching at Silver with a Fire Fang attack. The red-haired boy hissed in pain as the Dark-type's flaming teeth sunk into his arm, burning through the jacket and searing his skin.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

"Pika-_chu_!" The Electric-type's attack gave Houndoom a painful shock, and he let go of Silver.

"Come on, Silver, let's go!" Ash exclaimed before grabbing onto his brother's uninjured arm and pulling him toward the train. Silver called back Alakazam, and Domino and her team were released from his psychic forces, causing several to topple over.

Cilan closed the doors to the Ampharos Train as soon as Ash and Silver were inside, and the wheels began to turn. The last thing Silver could see was Domino scrambling to stand again with another scream of "Traitor!" on her lips.

.

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**End of Part III: The Project**

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	25. XXII: In Which Trip Shifts His Opinion

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**Part IV: The Unraveling**

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Chapter XXII: In Which Trip Shifts His Opinion

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_**May 11th, 1995. Morning. Pallet Town.**_

"Aw, it's so cute!" Leaf cooed as her fingers tenderly brushed over the reddish spikes on a male Nidoran baby's back.

Earlier that morning, Professor Oak had told Gary to run as fast as he could and bring Leaf and Ash to the lab. The Nidoran egg he had in his care started shaking shortly after he woke up, and he saw an educational opportunity for Pallet Town's youngest residents—a chance to witness the birth of a Pokémon.

Gary made a face.

"You think that's cute?" he asked. "No way. Look at the horn. It's gonna be a tough one. D'you know that just touching it could poison you? It's called 'Poison Point.' It's its special ability."

"Very good, Gary," the elder Oak commended, impressed his young grandson could remember such details.

"It, too, is cute," Leaf insisted with a huff. "You can be cute _and_ tough, Garebear. Like me!"

She then smiled cutely and winked, while Gary rolled his eyes.

"I don't care whether it's cute or tough or both!" Ash piped in. "It's cool! I'd _love_ to train a Nidoran someday!"

"Nuh-uh, you can't do that!" Gary scowled. Ash frowned.

"Well, why not?" the raven-haired child asked.

"Because I'm going to catch a Nidoran and evolve all the way to Nidoking!" Gary scoffed. "You can't _copy_ me."

"Hey, I was the one who said I wanted to train a Nidoran _first_," Ash fought back.

"Boys, boys, that's enough," Professor Oak gently chastised, picking up the infant Pokémon. The gesture, however, startled Nidoran, and he began thrashing about. "After all, if you're not careful, you might upset—oof!"

The Nidoran had turned and rammed its head against the professor's chest, knocking him down. The three children all looked horrified.

"Gramps!" Gary called out as he, Leaf and Ash went to help the aging man sit up. "You OK?"

"Oh yes," the professor reassured them, rubbing the back of his head. He still had a hand draped over Nidoran's back, disallowing him from escaping. "I must have caught this little guy off guard when I held him. Sorry about that, Nidoran."

"Nido Ni," Nidoran forgave him.

"Professor, what was that move Nidoran used?" Leaf asked curiously, relieved now that everything appeared to be OK.

"Head Smash," Oak answered simply. "You see, this Nidoran's father is a Rampardos. Pokémon can inherit certain moves from their parents that they might not be able learn otherwise."

"Really?" Gary blinked. "I didn't know that, Gramps."

"It is a complicated matter, and we still don't understand it fully," the professor continued, standing up and setting Nidoran back on the table. "Human genetics are different from Pokémon genetics."

"Genetics?" Ash's expression twisted with confusion.

"Ah... how should I explain this?" the professor mused. "Genetics are... characteristics we inherit from our parents. You, Ash, for example, have your mother's eyes." He then glanced toward Gary. "And you, Gary, well... your face reminds me very much of your father. He looked a lot like you when he was your age. I could show you pictures later."

Gary's cool demeanor faded, and he solemnly nodded.

"What about me, professor?" Leaf asked, leaning over the table, toward the elder Oak. "How do I look like my parents?"

The professor paused, suddenly realizing he had made a grave mistake discussing this matter with the children. He looked away, rubbing his chin, searching for an appropriate response.

"Ah well, Leaf..." he began gently. "Let's see... hm... well, genetics aren't everything." He waved his hand. "Anyway, I should be contacting the trainer who owns this egg to let him know it hatched. Leaf, Ash, send my apologies to your mothers for pulling you away from breakfast."

Leaf blinked and frowned, puzzled by the subject change. Before she could push the professor to answer her question, however, Ash spoke up.

"OK, thanks professor," he said with his usual grin before turning to Leaf. "C'mon, I'll walk you home."

"Oh... right..." Leaf seemed disappointed, but she nevertheless turned toward the elderly Oak and bowed her head. "Thank you, professor."

As Gary left to wave off his two companions, Professor Oak let out a long sigh before absentmindedly patting the baby Nidoran.

* * *

"Mom! Dad! I'm home!" Leaf called as she shut the door behind her and pulled off her shoes. Her greeting was met with silence, and she furrowed her eyebrows slightly before calling for them again.

"We're in the dining room, sweetheart," Leaf heard her mother's ragged voice call. The girl smiled and bounded straight toward there, finding both of her aged parents sitting at the table. No breakfast had been laid out; if it had, it had already been cleared.

"It was _so_ cool this morning, Mom," Leaf said excitedly. "Gary and Ash and I watched a little Nidoran hatch from his egg! I wish you could've seen him, he was so cute! I hope his real trainer doesn't ask Professor Oak to transfer him right away, 'cause I'd really like to visit him again."

"That's great, Leaf." Her father forced a smile, sending a ripple of wrinkles through his skin. Leaf paused for a moment, sensing something was off about her parents' mood. They had always been a little lethargic, but they were usually more enthused when listening to her stories.

"Is... something wrong?" she asked tepidly.

Her parents exchanged glances, and Leaf grew more concerned.

"We received a call from Professor Oak," her father began tenderly, "and... while we wanted wait to tell you this when you were older, your mother and I talked for a bit and thought it best to tell you now."

_**March 4th, 2002. Late Morning. Ampharos Train.**_

Leaf breathed in sharply when her eyes opened again to a whirl of colors and sounds that blended together into one giant, indiscernible mass, and it made her feel ill. Then, she became acutely aware of a sharp, throbbing pain in her lower abdomen, and its intensity sent her mind reeling further into oblivion.

"Leaf, Leaf," Gary pleaded with her as she began to writhe around. "Please calm down."

Her shirt was rolled up to her chest, and Dawn was leaning over her with a wet cloth she'd sterilized using Cilan's first aid supplies, attempting to clean the wound. Misty and her Staryu had prepared a bowl of water for the blunette to use, but it often had to be rinsed and refilled as the liquid turned pink or splashed out as the train moved at high speeds. Water, tainted by touches of blood, trickled down between the low, thin ridges of the rubbery black flooring.

"It doesn't seem too deep," Dawn declared after a moment, her voice shaking slightly. "It's long, but it isn't deep."

It was good news, a morsel of positivity onto which they could cling. A shallow wound meant no harm had been done internally, though to believe they were in the clear would have been nothing short of naïve. Gary estimated she had lost a little more than a pint of her blood—a glance at Ritchie attested to that—and another pint or two would turn the situation from bad to fatal.

Leaf suddenly reached over her head and made several feeble attempts to clench the edge of Gary's jacket.

"Ga... Gary..." she said weakly.

"Yes, Leaf, I'm here," he assured her, gently brushing her bangs.

"I'm sorry." Her bottom lip quivered. "I shouldn't... I shouldn't have said... you were right..."

"What is she talking about?" Paul muttered, casting the researcher a hurried glance. Gary shook his head, not understanding himself. No one could; they remained firmly grounded in the horrors of their present, while her mind continued to regress back into old memories, into places far away from there.

_**October 17th, 1996. Morning. Pallet Town.**_

The casket was open for viewing. Leaf didn't want to see, though. She had already stolen a glance at her mother's pale, waxy face from afar, and that was all she needed.

Her father, according to her wishes, temporarily left her behind to say his last goodbye. Leaf waited on the pew, keeping her head low. Nobody noticed her as they passed by, going to pay their final respects; nobody, except Ash. When he and his mother entered, both dressed in all black, he raised a hand and shyly waved at her. She looked away.

She knew Gary and the professor were there, too. She had seen them, but Gary hadn't acknowledged her presence.

Leaf watched Delia take Ash into one of the nearby rows and stand next to a middle-aged woman, one of their next-door neighbors.

"It is such a shame, leaving behind such a young girl," the woman sighed to Delia. She meant to whisper, but she was just loud enough for Leaf to overhear. "It makes me angry, actually. I know Sarah was heartbroken over never being able to have children, but to adopt that late in her and Henry's life? It's utter irresponsibility."

"Don't speak unkindly of people at their own funerals," Delia said, subdued. "Children can still thrive with a single parent." She pressed Ash closer to her side as she said this, and he looked up at her, blinking.

"You can't disagree with me, Delia," the woman protested. "You know Henry isn't in the best of health, either. What will happen to that girl when he passes, too?"

"The same thing that happened to Gary when Melissa and Jon died in that car crash," Delia answered. "Someone will take care of her."

"Who?" the woman pressed. "Gary had his grandfather to take him in. Who does Leaf have? No one."

Leaf balled her fists, feeling herself begin to shake with anger. She wanted to stand up and scream at that woman, to let her know that she'd heard the entire thing—to defend her mother's name, to humiliate her for speaking badly about the person they were supposed to honor, in the way Leaf felt humiliated then. Instead, she bit her tongue and, standing up, stalked out of the church.

Only then did people notice her.

She knew exactly where she was headed the moment she made it outside. Behind the church was a small garden the town's pastor kept. It was meant to be a place of reflection, a place where one could take time to appreciate divinity's hand in nature and humans and Pokémon alike. Leaf just needed somewhere for her to cry for a few minutes, though—which was she was surprised when she found another person already there.

"Gary?" she inquired.

The boy jerked his head toward her and scrambled to stand.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Nothing." He hastily rubbed his eyes with his arm. Leaf frowned and also turned her head to wipe away the tears that had formed. Silence hung between the two for a while as Leaf sat on the edge of the bench Gary previously occupied, turning away from him. Gary awkwardly stood there, watching her, before sitting on the opposite side.

Leaf folded her elbows into her gut and bit her fist, wishing he'd leave. She couldn't let him see her cry. She _wouldn't_ let him see her cry.

Meanwhile, Gary drew the silence out a minute or two longer before tentatively glancing over his shoulder and asking, "Are... Are you OK?"

Leaf's hands dropped to the edge of the bench, and she turned herself slightly to make direct eye contact.

"Gary... that is the _stupidest_ question you have ever asked. In fact, that question is stupider than anything Ash has ever asked, so that should tell you just how stupid it is."

"All right, sorry," Gary grumbled. "I just... I mean, I know you're not OK, I was just giving you a chance to say it. No one ever asked me whether I was OK or not, so I never got to tell anyone I wasn't."

"Well, I don't want to say anything," Leaf scoffed before looking away and brushing the tears away in her eyes again. "I want to be left alone, but you're out here. Why are you even out here?"

"Same reason as you," Gary replied. "I got upset and didn't want to be in there anymore."

"Why would you be upset?"

"Because I _get_ it," Gary answered. "Because I know what it's like to lose family. And... I don't know, I guess when I saw the coffin, I remembered my parents' funeral, and it bothered me."

"You were 5 years old when your parents died. You don't remember," Leaf scoffed.

"Don't tell me what I do or don't remember." Gary appeared offended.

"Either way, you wouldn't understand," Leaf continued bitterly. "Maybe you think you do, but you don't even come close. You've always been wanted, and you'll always be wanted. I wasn't wanted from the very beginning."

"What are you _talking_ about?"

"I'm adopted, Gary." Leaf looked exasperated.

"I know that," he said. "But so what if you're adopted? Blood isn't what makes families, and maybe your mom and dad aren't your 'real' parents, but they wanted you so much they made you their daughter anyway."

"Shut up!" Gary was surprised by her sudden aggressiveness as she jumped to her feet. "Just shut up! I don't want to hear it! I don't want to hear about how I'm wrong, 'cause I know I'm not. That woman was right. After my father, there's no one left for me. When he dies, I will become unwanted all over again."

"You'll still have Ash and me."

"Oh, what a real comfort."

"You think life's been unfair to you? Yeah, you're right, it has been. But it's been unfair to everyone," Gary fought back. "Maybe I do have my grandpa, but do you think it's any less fair that my parents died? Do you think it's fair Ash has never even met his father?"

"Ash's father's on a journey."

"No, that's just something his mom tells him so he won't feel bad, and you know it," Gary corrected. "That's beside the point. This isn't some kind of Olympic game to decide who has it the worst."

"But today, I deserve to think I have it the worst," Leaf pressed. "I deserve to sit here and cry by myself. You don't. You can't cry today, and you can't pretend you understand so you can sit here and lecture me with things I know aren't true."

"I'm not-"

"-No. Stop," Leaf promptly cut him off. "I don't want to talk to you. I don't even want to see you right now. Just leave."

"Leaf..."

She hated the way he was piteously looking at her with those green eyes; it made her feel like nothing, which was a difficult feat, considering she already felt like nothing at that point. And that made her _angry_.

"_Go_!" She raised her voice to a scream, giving him a shove. He was bigger than her though, so it hardly made an impact. "How many times do I have to tell you? I hate this day already, and you being here is making me hate you, too!"

_**March 4th, 2002. Late Morning. Indigo Plateau.**_

After a long, sleepless night and breakfast with her husband, Cynthia thought she had finally found rest. She pulled the curtains closed in her and Steven's bedroom, shut the door, and set an alarm to wake her later in the afternoon. She knew her sleep schedule was already off, but she didn't want to turn it upside down entirely.

She made a mistake in forgetting to turn her cell phone off, however; a mistake, perhaps, she would later be glad she made.

When her phone began ringing, stirring her from her sleep, she emitted a groan. She propped herself up on her elbow and picked it up, checking the caller ID. She then frowned, bemused.

"Candice?" Cynthia inquired politely when she answered. She didn't have the slightest idea as to why the Snowpoint Gym Leader would be calling. They had last spoken in February, when the G-Men were organizing efforts to take down the Team Rocket Hoenn base in Shroomish Forest. Candice had declined the invitation to go, and Cynthia wondered if she now regretted it and somehow wanted to offer her help.

"I'm sorry, could you slow down just a tad?" Cynthia asked. "You're speaking very quickly, and you sound like you're out of breath. Have you..." She stopped short to listen, brushing her fingers through her hair. Then, she tensed up and immediately threw the covers off her.

"_Arceus_."

_**March 4th, 2002. Noon. Ampharos Train.**_

"If we haven't seen them by now, we're not going to see them at all," Trip commented. He, Barry, Kenny, and Zoey were waiting at in the final passenger car, the caboose, to see if any Team Rocket agents were following them. They had their Pokéballs at the ready in case they needed to defend themselves.

"Let's not be so sure," Zoey warned.

"I am sure_,_" Trip persisted. "This train is moving _at least_ 90 miles per hour. Even a fast Flying-type couldn't catch up with us. Besides, although we didn't get Mewtwo or Moltres, there is one thing we did right: We left that Team Rocket base an absolute mess. Domino was confused; Petrel was confused; in fact, even _we_ were confused. The G-Men will get there before they can sort themselves out. You said Candice was going to get help, right?"

"Still, the flight from Kanto to Sinnoh is several hours long," Zoey pointed out. "And now we know there's another Team Rocket base in Unova."

"So? The flight from Unova to Sinnoh is even longer," Trip retorted. "If—_if_—Giovanni were to send Team Rocket forces from Unova and Mewtwo after us, it would take time."

"So... what you're saying is that our safety net right now is time?" Kenny asked.

"Basically, yes."

"It's gotta run out eventually, though," Barry mused. "Why 'if' though? Didn't you say Conway found some stuff confirming Giovanni was trying to nail us with Mewtwo? Why wouldn't he try to get us again once he knows we're alive?"

"The game's changed since December," Trip explained. "Giovanni has Moltres, our attempts to save Mewtwo were a humiliating failure, and now he's looking for something else. Fact is, Ash isn't a threat. Maybe Giovanni had reason to suspect he was, but we were dumb enough to really believe it. Well, look where that got us."

"Wait, what do you mean by 'looking for something else?'" Kenny asked. Trip paused briefly before shaking his head.

"It doesn't matter. It shouldn't be our problem anymore," he finally said. He then pulled at the collar of his Team Rocket uniform and added, "I'm going to change. I'm tired of wearing this."

He went through the door, and Zoey, Barry, and Kenny exchanged confused glances.

_**April 28th, 1997. Early Morning. Pallet Town.**_

"Oh, look at you..." Henry rose to greet his daughter as she came down the stairs in travel-appropriate, athletic attire. "Practically a woman. Your mother would be so proud."

Leaf half smiled as her father enveloped her in his arms, and she asked, "Mom was a trainer, too, wasn't she?"

"That's right," Henry affirmed, letting her go. "It's through Pokémon that your mother and I met, actually. She knew how valuable training your own Pokémon and going on a journey were, so I know she'd just be thrilled with your decision. I am, too, of course. It's just hard to let my little girl go."

"Oh Daddy," Leaf sighed, rolling her eyes. "You know I'll come back. Besides, you'll come watch me compete in the Indigo League, won't you?"

"Of course. That's a trip I'll definitely make," he assured her. Leaf smiled more fully and hugged him again. He reached down and kissed her on the cheek.

"I'm going to go to Professor Oak's lab," she informed him. "I'll come visit again once I've picked my Pokémon."

* * *

A crowd had gathered outside the lab, and Leaf groaned and shook her head. They were all there for Gary. He'd always been a popular boy; the gem of Pallet Town. He had a famous grandfather, a bright mind, a cute face, and a sympathetic story. Who wouldn't adore him?

Leaf let out a long sigh and flicked her ponytail over her shoulder before pushing through the throng of people and beginning her ascension up the stairs. This seemed to upset some members of the crowd.

"Hey! No one except new trainers are allowed to go in there," another girl, a teenager, called after her. "You're going to have to wait to see Gary like the rest of us!"

"I _am_ a new trainer," Leaf hollered back, looking over her shoulder and glaring.

Once she made it to the top, she raised her hand and knocked on the door. It felt odd. She had passed through these same doors hundreds of times, many of them without knocking. Today was different, though. Every time she had entered through these doors, every lesson she received from the professor on the other side, had led up to this moment.

"'Bout time you got here," Gary rudely greeted, ushering her inside.

"Aw, Gary, that's so sweet," Leaf began sarcastically as he shut the door behind them. "You wanted to see me?"

"As if," Gary scoffed. "My grandpa refuses to allow me to be the first to pick a Pokémon. He thinks it would be 'unfair.' So I've waited all morning for either you or Ash to show up. You better not get the one I want."

"I hope, by chance, that I do," Leaf said, and Gary glowered at her.

"Leaf!" the professor called to her as he stood in the doorway to his lab. "Good to see you made it, my dear. Come, I have the Pokémon ready."

Leaf smiled cutely and winked at Gary before moving toward the elder Oak. Gary inwardly seethed before following her.

"So, do you know which Pokémon you want?" Professor Oak asked Leaf as soon as she and Gary entered the lab.

"Yes." Leaf nodded. "I've been thinking about it for a very long time, and I decided that I would like Bulbasaur to be my first partner."

She could hear Gary breathe a relieved sigh behind her, but she hardly cared as the professor plucked one of the three Pokéballs from its station and handed it to her. Leaf couldn't help but let out a delighted giggle as she held out the Pokéball and said:

"Bulbasaur, come on out!"

The Pokéball opened, and the small Grass-type emerged with its throaty cry. Leaf's eyes lit up, and she dropped to her knees to meet the Seed Pokémon and its level.

"Hi." She gave a small wave. "My name is Leaf Greene, and I'm going to be your new trainer. I hope we can become good friends."

Bulbasaur seemed a little wary at first, but her smile quickly managed to dissolve his apprehension, and he leapt into her arms. Leaf was surprised by the affectionate gesture, but she was more than willing to reciprocate as she gave him a couple of friendly pats on the head.

"Well, lucky me, 'cause the best one's still left," Gary interrupted the sentimental moment, as he snatched up one of the remaining two Pokéballs. "Go, Squirtle!"

Leaf frowned, slowly rising to her feet.

"Don't listen to him, Bulbasaur," she advised. "He might think Squirtle is a better Pokémon, but remember: You have the type advantage."

"You askin' for a battle?" Gary challenged.

"No." Leaf looked away. "I have other places to be right now."

"You scared?" Gary continued to bait her. Leaf wouldn't bite.

"No," she repeated, making eye contact again. "I just know that a battle against you now wouldn't mean anything. I'll meet you and Ash both in the Indigo League. By then, we'll have some real experience under our belts, and we'll be able to decide who really is the better trainer."

"Fine," Gary conceded. "Indigo League it is."

There was a knock at the door. Leaf tore her gaze away.

"I'll get it," she said.

"Oh, Leaf-" the professor began, but she cut him off.

"-It's OK," she insisted. "I'm on my way out anyway."

She returned Bulbasaur into his Pokéball and turned to leave without another glance at Gary. When she opened the door, however, her expression melted into shock.

"You're not Ash."

_**March 4th, 2002. Noon. Ampharos Train.**_

Leaf whined as Iris began applying an ointment she'd created using some dried Oran berries found at the bottom of her bag to her wound. Everyone else, with the exception of Gary, had backed off and were now watching as the Dragon Master hopeful did her work. Gary kept Leaf's head propped on her lap, and he would gently hush her incoherent speech or curb her erratic movements whenever they came.

Paul, who was leaning up against the wall, was observing the scene carefully, processing what had happened. Many of the group's members had immediately jumped to Leaf's aid when she needed it. It was a chaotic event at first, but everyone quickly pulled together to get the job done—and get it done effectively. The group of trainers, half of whom couldn't stand each other when the journey began, were a powerful force when they could set aside their differences and work to save one of their comrades.

And Gary, whom Paul had originally pegged as someone who couldn't care about anything other than himself and his own goals, had never looked more scared.

It made him wonder whether the same had happened when he passed out from Ariados's poison. The mere thought—the realization that perhaps the same _had_ been true for even someone like him—caused something to snap, and he dropped his arms and turned around, storming toward the door to the next car.

Dawn noticed his abrupt movements and leapt to her feet, frantically calling out, "Paul? Paul, where are you going?"

* * *

"Ah, there you go," Conway mumbled to himself as he sprayed Leaf's Ivysaur's injured neck with some Super Potion and massaged the medicine into the Grass-type's skin. "That should help."

The passenger car beside the one Leaf and her aids occupied was much less turbulent, though far more tense. May's bottom lip had stopped bleeding, though it had swollen profusely. The cloth she had used to soak up the remaining drops of blood had been replaced with a cold compress that Drew, using May's Glaceon, had helped prepare.

Ritchie sat alone in front of a second bucket of water Misty and her Staryu had filled, washing the red off his hands and arms. The blood-stained jacket he'd used to dam Leaf's wound when he first found her was next to him, serving as solemn reminder of what was happening in the next car.

Across from Ritchie were Ash and Silver. Ash was keeping himself distracted by assisting his half-brother, helping tend the burned and bleeding skin on his arm. Silver was looking away, though he kept a single wary eye glued to the raven-haired boy. He didn't understand; no, he couldn't fathom why Ash would help him now. In fact, it was difficult to imagine why he hadn't abandoned him back at the Command Center. Everyone else certainly would have.

Suddenly, the door from Leaf's car slid open, and in came a rather furious-looking Paul. Before anyone had a chance to react or ask what was wrong, he grabbed Silver by the collar of his shirt, snatched him away from Ash, and slammed him up against the train's window.

"What the _hell_ happened?" He was on the verge of screaming, and it shocked everyone. Paul was irritable, but he usually kept a cool head, and he had _never_ grown violent before. Silver, however, did not appear intimidated and merely snarled in response, grabbing onto Paul's arm and trying to force him off.

"Paul!" Dawn flew in after the Veilstone trainer. "Paul, stop it!"

She gripped his shoulder and attempted to pull him away. He remained firmly rooted to his spot for a moment longer, however, before backing off and letting Silver down.

"You said Mewtwo and Moltres would be at Sinnoh," Paul continued, his voice dangerously low. Dawn kept her hand on his shoulder, lest he jump on the red-haired boy again.

"I said I _thought_ they would," Silver defended. "I didn't know there was a base in Unova. That information is as new to me as it is to you."

"Well, why _didn't_ you say that?" Paul growled. "Why didn't you tell us you weren't sure? We could've saved ourselves so much grief. We could've prevented Leaf from getting hurt. _Seriously_ hurt. And now we're in a lot of trouble, because we are in no position to defend ourselves if larger Team Rocket forces and Mewtwo come knocking."

Silver let out an exasperated sigh.

"I'm sorry," he huffed. "I really am. I didn't even think of it as a possibility. I felt so sure..."

He trailed off, and Paul finally seemed to regain a handle on his emotions.

"Yeah." His hands slid into his pockets, and he looked pointedly at Ash. "I felt sure, too."

Ash, who had stood up in alarm when Paul grabbed Silver, suddenly felt the weight of many pairs of eyes on him. He looked around him and saw May with her sympathetic frown; Drew, whose attention decidedly focused on his own hand, which was on May's knee, the moment Ash glanced at him; Conway with his curious gaze hidden by the reflection in his glasses; Ritchie, who had stopped cleaning himself to watch the scene unfold; Dawn, who was trying so hard to hold herself together and not show a trace of doubt in her expression; and Silver, who couldn't bring himself to make eye contact.

Ash then glanced at Pikachu, who remained seated where his trainer had previously been. The Electric-type folded his ears sadly with a sigh, and Ash felt as though the ground beneath him had crumbled.

_**March 4th, 2002. Noon. Sinnoh Team Rocket Base.**_

Domino hurried down the stairwell, her vision blurring as she did so. Her head was throbbing with pain from when Kamon's Feraligatr threw her against the wall with his Hydro Pump, and the only thing propelling her forward was adrenaline.

After the Ampharos Train had pulled away, she dispersed her assembled team of Rocket agents to find Petrel. They were to tell him to meet her in Proton's office, where they would plan their next step—which undoubtedly would include contacting their leader, Giovanni. She wasn't looking forward to that aspect. He had been especially paranoid since the fall of the Hoenn base, as he should be. Learning what had happened—and whom they had run into—would only agitate him more, if not enrage him.

"Proton!" Domino called bursting into his office. "Proton! There was a breach of security! Ash Ketchum and the others are still alive, and Kamon was with them! Kamon betrayed us again; I'd be willing to bet he led them straight here."

There was no response, which served only to ignite Domino's anger. They were in crisis; this was a serious situation. She needed Proton _now_.

"Proton!" she shouted again.

Again, no response.

Domino's irritation began to fade as ventured forward into the eerily quiet, cold room. Her frustration was quickly (and strangely) replaced with a sense of apprehension. It made her skin crawl. Something wasn't right. _Where was Proton?_ He had to have heard her. Why wasn't he answering her?

She slowly rounded his desk.

"... Proton?"

_**March 4th, 2002. Afternoon. Olivine City.**_

The moment Ursula saw Agent Adalet on her doorstep, she knew either something had gone terribly wrong, or wonderfully right. Considering all her reservations, however, she suspected it was the former.

"Agent!" Ursula exclaimed, quickly adopting the persona she'd created that night in February, exactly one month ago. "I don't understand, why are you here? Why-"

"-Please drop the act, Ms. Schoenberg," Adalet interrupted her. Ursula paused, then let out an exasperated sigh, falling back into her usual form. She pushed the door open wider and turned on her heel.

"Come in," she droned.

Adalet appeared briefly surprised she had so easily given up on her role; it was as though she had expected this to happen at some point. He then shook his head and quickly followed her, rebuilding his firm, professional demeanor.

"So you _did_ lie to me," he grumbled, shutting the door behind him.

"If you want to call it that, sure," Ursula responded, sitting down on the sofa and crossing her legs. "How did you figure it out? What did they do?"

The use of the word 'they' in the second question temporarily threw him off. 'They' was plural. It implied she had spoken with more than just Leaf, that she had met the entire group. It also meant she knew they were on mission.

"I'm not allowed to speak freely," Adalet answered simply, testing her.

"Why? Because of the conspiracy?" Ursula scoffed. Adalet blinked, though he remained expressionless. 'Conspiracy' had been the key word. "Trust me, you have nothing to hide from me. I know about them being alive, so let's not waste time tip-toeing around that issue. Again, how did you figure it out?"

Adalet pressed his lips into a hard line.

"Lance and I thought that they were still in Johto. Leaf's last activity on her credit card was the purchase of those tickets to Hoenn, which you ended up possessing. However, certain events this morning made it apparent they somehow made it to Sinnoh, and I figured you were the reason."

"Certain events?"

"There's been an incident at a Team Rocket base in Sinnoh. Lance, Cynthia, and the other G-Men leaders are on a plane now, on their way there."

"Mhm..."

"Did you know about the Sinnoh Rocket base?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"I found out from Leaf."

"How did she know?"

Ursula sighed, knowing full well she was about to reveal an important detail Leaf had intended to keep hidden—at least, until she could use it to her own advantage.

"There was a boy named Silver they had picked up," Ursula explained. "He's the son of—what's his name again?—Giovanni, the Team Rocket boss, and I think the half-brother of Ash Ketchum, too? He knew where the Hoenn base and the Sinnoh base were. Leaf managed to strike some sort of deal with him. He agreed to help them on the sole condition that the G-Men not be involved."

"Why not trust the G-Men?" Adalet asked suspiciously.

"I don't know." Ursula shrugged. "I never talked to the kid myself. I don't even think Leaf was completely sure why Silver didn't like the G-Men, but she wasn't in a position to haggle."

"So..." Adalet paused, taking a moment to think. "I apologize, but I'm mildly confused. You said the condition was that the G-Men not be involved?"

"Yes," Ursula affirmed.

"But the note you gave me—the note in Leaf's handwriting—was addressed to Lance."

"Yes." Ursula nodded again.

"Isn't that-"

"-a violation of contract?" Ursula finished for him with a coy smile. "Yes. No one outside of myself and Leaf knew about that note. Everyone else believed the only thing I was doing for them was helping them sneak onto my father's boat to Chocovine Town. I'm guessing Silver never learned she betrayed his trust if they made it all the way to the Sinnoh base." Ursula suddenly let out a short laugh as a thought occurred to her. "Really, is it any wonder Silver wouldn't trust a G-Men agent?"

_**March 4th, 2002. Afternoon. Plane to Sinnoh.**_

"Well, at least now we know why Lily never went to Dragon's Den..." Alder mused aloud.

No one bothered to correct him on Leaf's name. Lance had just finished conveying what Agent Adalet had learned from Ursula in Olivine City, and the new information required some time to process. He, Steven, Alder, and Wallace sat together in the same high-class, high-speed plane they had taken to the Shamouti Isles in January. Cynthia had come this time, but she was presently speaking with someone through a video feed in another room.

"I suppose so," Steven halfheartedly agreed with the Unova Champion. "Another son of Giovanni, though? Do you think Delia is aware? Perhaps we should try to contact her, too."

"Let's not bring Delia into this," Lance responded. "It's a messy situation as is, and I don't want the fragile emotions of a mother to further complicate it. Besides, if Delia knew Giovanni had another son, she would have told us on Christmas Eve in Pallet Town. I'm guessing this Silver character is younger than Ash."

"What do we do about the issue of him not trusting the G-Men?" Wallace inquired. "Leaf had a deal."

"One that she broke," Lance pointed out. "If Leaf didn't feel obligated to honor it, then I'm certainly not."

"You would have done the same thing, Lance," Cynthia remarked, re-entering the room and sitting beside Steven. "Moreover, and as much as you and I both hate to admit this, if she hadn't, we would have never figured out where that Hoenn base was."

"To whom were you speaking?" Lance asked, changing the subject.

"Several people, actually," Cynthia answered shortly, unperturbed. "Some gym leaders, the Sinnoh Elite Four... They're going to meet us at Snowpoint."

"Maylene?"

"No." Cynthia shook her head. "I knew she and Reggie were still in Kanto, so I didn't call her. There is an important point we need to address, though: What are we going to do about those kids on the Ampharos Train? I'm wondering if perhaps I should call Gardenia again and tell her to try to intercept it. Eterna City isn't terribly far away."

"I'd rather not," Lance admitted. "Let me take a moment to _emphasize_ that I want to delay this getting out for as long as possible. It will be out soon; there's no denying that. If the executives at the Sinnoh base figured out Ash is alive, that news will make it Giovanni, and it will subsequently leak into the news cycle. But, I'm hoping we can keep the public in the dark about this for a little longer. I cannot clean up the mess at the Sinnoh base and do damage control with the media at the same time."

"Then what do you suggest?" Cynthia asked.

"Let them handle themselves for now," Lance answered. "While Leaf has created a massive headache with this new Team Rocket base, she's still done a surprisingly good job keeping those kids' identities safe for the past several months. I'm still flabbergasted they managed to make it to Sinnoh without setting off any alarms. If they can just scuttle back into a low profile for maybe 48 hours, then they should be fine. We'll just have to take care of Giovanni."

Cynthia was silent for a short while. She glanced down at her hands, folding them in her lap.

"Lance," she began, looking back up at him. "I... I didn't say this earlier, specifically because I didn't want you to..."

"To what?" Lance raised an eyebrow.

"When I was talking to Candice," Cynthia started again, "she told me that something had happened to Leaf." Lance turned his head slightly. "Something happened to her while at the Sinnoh base, and she was hurt. Badly."

Steven glanced at Lance. There had been subtle changes in the Indigo Champion's expression. The hard lines in his face had softened, and he looked a little more solemn.

"How serious is it?" Lance asked in a low, though calm voice.

"I don't know," Cynthia replied. "Candice didn't either. Leaf's injuries were apparently what prompted Gary Oak to tell Candice to get help, though."

Lance didn't say anything. He averted his gaze from the Sinnoh Champion's and stood shortly thereafter, turning away from the group as he leaned an arm against the wall of the plane. The four others watched him for a long moment with bated breath; though perhaps it didn't seem like much at the surface level, this was the most emotional reaction most of them had ever seen from him.

"Lance?" Steven was the first to speak.

The red-haired male slowly turned to face his colleagues again.

"This is what we'll do," he began slowly, seriously. "We will contact the Pokémon Center at Lake Acuity and ask Nurse Joy to take in those trainers. I want it to be made clear to her that the fact they are alive is not information that should be freely shared. I still do not want to deal with a media rush. Once they're safe, we'll figure out our next step."

Cynthia quickly nodded.

"I'll get on it now," she said, rising to her feet and exiting the room.

Lance looked away again, pinching the bridge of his nose and lowering his head. Steven leaned back into his chair, frowning, as he watched the Indigo Champion.

_**October 29th, 1997. Early Evening. Indigo Plateau.**_

"How old were you when you joined Team Rocket?"

Her bottom lip quivered. The dimming lights flickered above her and her interviewer, and it destroyed any semblance of warmth or even sympathy.

"10," she answered finally.

"How old are you now?"

"15."

"Why did you join?"

Lance Grayson asked each of these questions slowly, carefully. He had no intention of intimidating the girl, Felly, but his attempts to be somewhat friendly, to lower the guard of professionalism, of his title, fell flat in the dreary atmosphere.

"My, um," Felly began tepidly, "back then, my father had recently drunk himself to death. Even though I was on my journey, I was destroyed. You see, I never knew my mother... so Daddy was all I had, but he'd had a problem with alcohol for as long as I could remember. He was never violent or anything, but without me around to help curb his alcoholism, I guess... well, he ended up unintentionally killing himself. I was left feeling like I had nothing, and Team Rocket offered me the ability to be _something_. It just seemed like my only option."

Lance frowned. He hadn't expected such an answer, and as such, he could only abruptly transition into his next question.

"Do you know anything about the burning of the Celadon Gym in July?" he asked.

"No," Felly answered. "I mean, I'd heard of it, but I wasn't involved."

"What about any of the other major Team Rocket activities this year? Such as the incident on the S. S. Anne or-"

"-I haven't participated in any of that," she broke in.

"What did you do then?"

Felly remained quiet for a moment, nervously twirling a strand of her hair and tucking it behind her ear.

"Well, you know... the motto for Team Rocket has always been 'Steal Pokémon for profit. Exploit Pokémon for profit. All Pokémon exist for the glory of Team Rocket,'" she began, "so... my job as a field agent was just to get Pokémon I could send to the Boss in return for a paycheck—something to live on. To be perfectly honest, though, they did stop paying me for a while."

"Why is that?"

"Um... well, I did ask, but I was told they didn't have the resources to pay me at the time. They had been doing a lot of investing in some big research project. I only started receiving money again in August."

"What was the project?"

"I don't know. They didn't say."

Lance frowned, tapping his pencil against the table. While her vague answers were disheartening, they did present him with some valuable information: Team Rocket was working on something big, but they were strapped on cash.

"Who is 'the Boss?'"

"I don't know his name. Most don't. He's just 'the Boss' to us."

"Do you know where he's located at least?"

"No." Felly shook her head. "I've never been to the base."

Lance let out a sigh, rubbing his temples.

"Thank you. That's all for now."

* * *

"So," Agatha began, shutting the door behind her, "it seems you've reached a bit of a moral dilemma."

Lance didn't respond for a moment. He was sitting at his desk with his arm propping his head up, and he appeared mildly distressed. He had called Agatha and asked her to visit. While Lance prided himself on being notably self-sufficient for a newer Champion—he had only held the position for three years—there were times when he needed his predecessor's guidance.

"I don't know what to do," Lance finally admitted. "She's _15_."

Agatha smiled sympathetically and sat in the chair across from him.

"It is quite a gray area, isn't it?"

"If she goes to court, it'll be an easy conviction."

"You don't know that. The judge, like you, might sympathize with her."

"The judge won't see the gray, though. There are only black and white answers," Lance said. "The fact is that she is a member of Team Rocket, and that she did steal Pokémon. Nothing else matters."

"Well, I suppose there's your solution."

Lance didn't seem satisfied with that, however. He leaned back in his chair, stretching slightly as he did so.

"I..." he began in a low voice. "I have the power to acquit her."

Agatha wondered when he would reach this realization. She let out a sigh before pushing her chair forward and leaning toward the Indigo Champion.

"I would implore you to be careful, Lance," she warned. "We exist in a dangerously delicate system; a flawed system. Champions have unequivocal power over their jurisdictions, despite being unelected leaders. I'm sure you recognize why such a power structure is problematic."

"I do," Lance conceded. "I'm not sure how that is related."

"Because it is a slippery slope," Agatha explained. "Yes, you do have the power to acquit her. You have the power to do anything, and that's the scary part. There's a reason Champions hardly ever earn their title the 'traditional' way anymore. The last to become Champion by way of winning the Pokémon League, battling the Elite Four, and defeating the reigning Champion was Alder—more than two decades ago."

Lance was silent.

"You, Steven, and Cynthia, on the other hand, were chosen," Agatha continued. "You had to be chosen. Two decades ago, the Championship title was not a political position. But, through the foolish mistakes of your predecessors—through the well-intentioned, though reckless expansion of power by way of wielding that same power—it became political. As a result, we have been forced into choosing. If we don't, we risk the power of the Championship title falling into irresponsible hands."

Lance frowned, but he still said nothing.

"I chose you because I knew you would be responsible; because I knew Drayden had raised you for this," Agatha said. "In fact, you, especially, have a heavier burden than any other Champion, because you lead two regions rather than one. The balance of power tips in your favor. So, when you use your influence and power to push the line, you set a dangerous precedent."

"I understand all this," Lance pressed, "but I still fail to see how the acquittal of a 15-year-old girl would be a misuse of power."

"It's not necessarily a misuse of power," Agatha clarified. "But it is an exception, and that paves the way for more exceptions and the further politicization of the Championship title and the distortion of its power. You think Felly is the only Team Rocket member with a story?"

"I..."

"Lance," Agatha began again. "I'll tell you now: Felly is _not_ the only one. There are many, many others. If you acquit one, then you must do the same for all. It's undeniably tragic, but the reason why Team Rocket has become such a force is because it subsists on kids like Felly who think they have nowhere else to go."

"It's not fair."

"No, it's not."

"What do I do then?"

Agatha sighed, and patted the hand of the Champion.

"You do what you can to change it," she said. "While Champions have the power to do a lot of harm, they also have the power to do immense good. If you want less people to join Team Rocket, then tackle the social issues that drive people into the organization's claws."

The prospect seemed overwhelming, and Lance sunk into his seat.

"It's too much," he mumbled. "Where would I even start? Alcoholism? Parent abandonment? Lack of education? There are innumerable complex issues embedded into society that would help feed the membership of Team Rocket, and there are no magic fix buttons for any of them."

"Now, now, don't get too much into a tizzy over this," she consoled. "Accept that you can't change it over night, and simply move one by one. It's only the best you can do."

* * *

It was overcast the following morning with a chance of some light rain.

Lance was on his way to the local Pokémon Center for a scheduled check-up of his Pokémon, opting to walk in the unusually cool autumn weather and breathe in the sweet petrichor after such a terrible night. It would help take his mind off the issues that troubled him.

When he entered the center and approached the counter, however, he found Nurse Joy in a frenzy. She was on the phone, speaking hurriedly into the receiver, and it didn't take long for him to figure out that something was wrong. She was on the verge of crying, though she was doing her best to hold herself together.

"Yes, yes, thank you..." the kindly nurse said. "Please bring her back as soon as possible. I'm worried sick."

"What's happened?" Lance asked as soon as Joy hung up. She looked at him with wide eyes, only now realizing he was there.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Champion Lance," she began apologetically. "You had an appointment, didn't you? Here, I'll retrieve Chansey and get cleaned up as soon as possible, so I can get to work."

"Never mind that right now," Lance persisted. "What's the matter? You seem very upset."

Nurse Joy paused to wipe her eyes.

"I'm so sorry," she repeated her apology. "I don't mean to drag you into it, but... I was speaking with Officer Jenny just now about finding a young trainer that ran out on me maybe an hour ago. I received word that her father back home had recently passed and was charged with giving her the news. When I did, she became so upset, and she left before I could say anything more. You didn't see her on your way here, did you? Young girl, only 10 years old, brown hair, blue eyes?"

"No, I'm afraid I haven't," Lance said, frowning. "That's awful, though. What's her name?"

"Leaf Greene," Nurse Joy answered. "She's from Pallet Town. She had recently earned her eighth badge and came here to begin training for the Indigo League."

"I see," Lance mused. "Well, I hope you find her."

"Thank you." Nurse Joy nodded quickly. "Ah, but your Pokémon... I've gotten a little backed up as a result of this situation, so the wait time is a bit longer than usual."

"That's fine," Lance assured her. "I have some work I still need sort out at my office. Could I leave them here and return this afternoon to pick them up?"

"Yes, that would be fine," Nurse Joy said. "Apologies for the inconvenience."

* * *

The rain finally came.

Lance hadn't bothered to bring an umbrella, but he didn't mind terribly. A little rain wouldn't hurt him. Still, the chilled water wasn't pleasant per se, and he turned down a different route than the one he originally took. It was a longer road, but it had more foliage alongside it, which would help shield him from the poor weather.

Now that he had taken care of his one personal errand for the day, it was time to refocus his attention on work. The G-Men's expanded efforts to take down Team Rocket had, thus far, been unsuccessful, even with Steven's added assistance. Lance was considering calling his colleague to talk to him about Felly, to see if he had a different perspective than Agatha on the situation.

Lance moved more to the side of the road as bus passed by, splashing up some muddy water.

"Wait!"

Lance paused, confused before seeing a young girl run past him, stumbling after the bus. With no one at the designated bus stop, however, it kept going, and she couldn't catch up. The girl stopped, breathing heavily, before stomping her foot in frustration and falling onto the bench behind her. She buried her face in her hands, and the muffled sounds of tears more fully captured Lance's attention.

He stopped under the shelter provided by the bus stop, watching her.

Brown hair.

About 10 years old...

Lance cleared his throat, and she looked up at him, surprised.

Blue eyes.

"Are you Leaf Greene?" he asked. She scrambled to her feet.

"Y-Yes," she stammered. "You... You're Lance Grayson, aren't you? The Indigo Champion."

His lack of denial defaulted to an affirmation. Instead, he said, "There are some people looking for you."

She looked confused by this statement.

"Who?" she asked.

"Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny. I heard that your father had died. I'm very sorry about that. Nurse Joy was quite worried about you."

"Oh..." She sat back down, looking away. "There's no need. I'm not going to do anything bad to myself or anything. I'm just trying to catch a bus back to Pallet Town."

Lance frowned and glanced ahead, where the bus had gone.

"Is there no one who can come pick you up and take you there?" he asked.

"No," Leaf answered morosely. "My mother died a couple years ago, too. She and my father were the only family I had. So... I've got no one left. I don't even know if there'll be a funeral. Maybe Delia will put something together."

She lowered her head, rubbing her eyes with her sleeve. Lance stood there silently for a long moment, unsure of what to say, or even do. Finally, he slowly turned and sat beside her. She looked at him apprehensively.

"Well, if you're not going to go back to the Pokémon Center, then at least let me wait with you," he said.

Leaf loosened up a little bit, though she still seemed fairly uneasy.

"Thanks," she mumbled, refusing eye contact. Lance continued to watch her, however.

"You seem to be handling this extraordinarily well," he remarked. She shrugged.

"I... I guess I've been expecting it for a while now; preparing for it," she responded. "I just didn't think it would happen this soon. He was supposed to come see me compete in the Indigo League next month. I wanted him to see me become something, so that when he did go, I wouldn't have nothing."

Lance drew in a quick breath. Her words disturbed him. They echoed the initial sentiments of the story Lance had heard from Felly yesterday; they resonated with the insight Agatha provided him.

A second bus pulled up, and Leaf stood up.

"Thanks again," she said before turning toward the door, which the driver had opened for her. Just as she was about to take her first step, however, Lance, without much thinking, called out:

"Wait."

Leaf stopped, glancing back at him.

Lance continued, "Come to my office with me at the G-Men headquarters. I will take you to Pallet Town myself. But come with me first."

She watched him, baffled. Lance stood up, though he didn't retract his offer.

"Hey, girlie, you gettin' on or not?" the bus driver yelled at her. When she didn't respond, he let out a frustrated sigh and closed the door again. The bus began moving, driving away on the wet, muddy road.

_**March 4th, 2002. Afternoon. Lake Acuity.**_

Traffic through the Lake Acuity Pokémon Center had always been light. Although Lake Acuity was a beautiful tourist destination, its location, being far removed from normal society, in addition to its lack of a gym leader rendered the area quiet and uneventful. But, with the recent dropping temperatures throughout Sinnoh, patrons were now, more than ever, few and far between. There was only one trainer staying in the center presently, not that Nurse Joy minded. She enjoyed the peaceful solitude, but it tended to grow lonely.

When the center's phone began ringing, she was mildly confused. She didn't have the slightest clue as to who would call such a small, inactive center, but she picked up anyway.

"Hello, you've reached the Lake Acuity Pokémon Center location," she said. "How may I help you?" She then fell silent as she listened to the speaker, and Nando—the sole guest at the center—paused to glance at the nurse. He was sitting on one of the lobby's sofa with his Sunflora, feeding her.

He didn't think anything of it until Joy leaned up against the wall, her face paling as she clutched the phone tighter with one hand pressed the other to her heart. He slowly rose to his feet.

"Nurse Joy?" he inquired politely. "Is everything all right?"

_**March 4th, 2002. Afternoon. Ampharos Train.**_

Cilan briefly looked over his shoulder when he heard the door into the pilot slide open, and he watched as Trip slipped inside. The Nuvema trainer picked up his bag and began rummaging through it, pulling out a set of his own clothes.

"Do you mind if I change?" Trip asked, a little more politely than usual.

"No, not at all," Cilan said, looking forward again. Trip pulled his Team Rocket shirt over his head, and the two young men said nothing more for several minutes. The only sounds that hung between them were the hum of the electrical engine Stunfisk had charged and would continue to charge every time power began running low, the grind of the wheels against the track, and the ruffling of Trip's clothes as he redressed himself.

Finally, Cilan spoke again.

"How is it in there?" he asked.

Trip looked up from tightening his belt.

"What?"

"How is it in there?" Cilan repeated. "What's happened? No one has told me anything since we left."

Trip shrugged.

"It's mostly just... quiet," he answered. "Only Iris and Gary are with Leaf now, and she's not OK, but she's doing better. Everyone else is just kind of sitting in silence in the other car, doing their own thing, not looking at one another."

Cilan briefly cast his gaze down, saddened by this news. He wasn't sure what else to expect, however; they were all, in one way or another, crushed. Suddenly, the connoisseur switched the train into autopilot and turned to face his fellow Unova trainer, who was now wearing his own clothes.

"You knew all along, didn't you?" the Striaton Gym Leader asked. "You knew you were never a target of Team Rocket's. Yet, you let Iris and I convince you to come to Pallet Town anyway."

Trip frowned, unable to look the taller male in the eye.

"You already know why that is," he mumbled. "Don't make me talk about it."

"It goes beyond that, though," Cilan pressed. "You knew, yet you submitted yourself into the conspiracy anyway. You knew, yet you were willing to go Mt. Silver. You knew, yet you traveled across the ocean and through Sinnoh with us. You knew, and you didn't say _anything_."

"I'm not sure where you're going with this."

"I suppose I'm not either," Cilan admitted. "I'm just not sure what to make of it; what to make of you, really. Why?"

Trip slid a single hand into his pocket and leaned up against the door, scratching his chin with his other hand.

"I, uh..." He sighed. " Well, part of it's because I was pulled into this whole thing with no way of turning back... but I think the other part was some subconscious part of me that wanted to believe in something greater than myself, even if it did seem crazy. And it was."

Cilan furrowed his eyebrows.

"You believed Ash was the Chosen One?"

Trip cast his gaze downward before looking up again.

"It was nice while it lasted," he conceded.

* * *

After bandaging up Leaf's lower abdomen to the best of her abilities, Iris reached up and felt for the unconscious trainer's pulse. Once she located it, the Dragon-type trainer fell back, letting out a long sigh.

"This is the best I can do," she told Gary. "She seems stable, but..."

"... We're going to need to get her better medical attention," Gary finished. Iris nodded before standing up.

"I'll tell the others," she said, heading for the door. Once she disappeared, Gary glanced back down at Leaf, whose cheeks were regaining the color now that she was no longer excessively bleeding. Still, the red outline of the long, thin wound across her abdomen had already begun to show through her bandages.

* * *

Everyone's eyes were immediately on Iris the moment she entered the other passenger car. Zoey, Barry, Kenny had returned from the caboose and were now sitting among their peers; Trip and Cilan were still in the pilot.

"I think..." Iris began slowly, "... she's going to be OK. But, we can't let her stay as is. She needs something to close that wound. Stitches, suture tape... things we don't have, and even if we did, we wouldn't have the know-how."

"We'll stop at one of the settlements along the train, then," Silver said. "We can get help there."

"But... people will know we're alive then," Barry said.

"It doesn't matter," Drew interjected. "If Giovanni doesn't know we're alive yet, he will soon. We didn't 'die' so the public would think we were dead; we died so Giovanni would."

"It _does_ matter," Trip insisted, garnering his fellow trainers' attention. He had emerged from the pilot. "Let's not throw everything out the window just yet. More people finding out would create a larger mess, making it that much easier for Giovanni to overwhelm the G-Men."

"Since when did the G-Men become a factor?" Silver asked, confused and mildly alarmed.

"Silver," Zoey began frankly, "Gary asked Candice to contact Lance. We are way over our heads right now, and we need help."

"Leaf agreed-"

"-Your agreement with Leaf has expired," Paul cut him off harshly. "You promised to help us stop your father and save Mewtwo and Moltres if Leaf kept the G-Men out of it entirely. She held up her end of the bargain; yours, on the other hand, fell short."

"That's enough!" Ash's uncharacteristically firm interruption caught many by surprise. He had remained silent for so long, refusing to voice his own perspective for fear that it would elicit deep disappointment or anger from his friends and rivals. Yet, he knew he could no longer wait passively and let his peers fight it out. He had to step in eventually; he had to make himself clear eventually.

Now that tensions had reached a boiling point—and now that his shame weighed so heavily upon him—Ash was ready to speak.

"That's enough," he repeated more quietly. "Paul, stop blaming Silver. Everything that happened today is my fault. _Everything_ that has happened is my fault."

He was standing in the middle of the aisle, and he had been for a while at that point. It was only when he brought attention to himself, however, that it became clear that he had been at the center all along.

"And I'm _so sorry_," Ash continued, his voice cracking. His fists balled as he began shaking. Despite how much he didn't want to, he knew if he cried, it would get his ultimate point across. "I didn't want any of this for you. I didn't want any of you to be pulled into this. I can't even put into words how awful I feel that you had to come with me on this journey, and that you had to go through what you did."

May started crying before Ash could. She tried to blink back the tears, but a couple managed to escape, though she was quick to wipe them away.

"I wanted so badly to not let Mewtwo or any of you down that I haven't been completely honest with you," Ash went on, "and it's caused several of you to believe that I'm something that I'm not. So blame me, not Silver, because I was the one who misled you. I am the reason you guys have been in danger and the reason you have gotten hurt, and I hate myself for it."

Silence.

Ash turned away, beginning to move back toward his seat.

"Are you saying that you don't think you're the Chosen One?" Ash stopped when Misty spoke up; anger lined the bottom of her voice. He glanced back at her hesitantly as she rose to her feet.

"Answer me, Ash Ketchum," she demanded.

Ash looked away.

"No," he finally replied. "I don't think I'm the Chosen One. Which is exactly why all of you have every right to be angry with me."

"I'm not angry because of that," Misty said. "I _am_ angry. But I'm more upset and sad that you can't see what I see; that you can't see what so many of us have seen."

Ash didn't move.

"_Look at me_!" Her voice rose to an almost-yell, and it jolted several others. Not Ash, though. He merely let out a long sigh before slowly turning on his heel to face his red-haired friend. They stood several feet apart down the aisle.

"Ash," Misty began, dropping her voice to a normal volume again, "I knew you were the Chosen One long before this whole thing started—before my home in Cerulean City burned to the ground. Before you started having the dreams. Since going on this journey, however, I now know without a single doubt that you are and that you always have been the Chosen One."

Ash's bottom lip quivered, but he didn't break eye contact.

"Why don't you think you're the Chosen One?" Misty asked, though she gave him no room to answer. "Because of the danger we've been in? Because Paul was poisoned? Because May got a split lip? Because Leaf had her gut cut open? Things are _supposed_ to get bad around you. Being the Chosen One doesn't mean you get a golden pass in life; it doesn't mean that things automatically work out the way you want them to, and it certainly doesn't mean it's easy for you or me or anyone else. What it _does_ mean is that when things go wrong, they go wrong in the right way."

"I don't understand..." Ash admitted.

Misty paused to take in a deep breath and consider how she should approach this topic.

"Do you realize that the _only_ reason Drew, Zoey, Barry, and Kenny are here is because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time?" Those whom the redhead had mentioned appeared unsettled. "There was a list of files Conway found; a hit list. I saw it. Drew was added only because he protected May and Max the night the Petalburg Gym was attacked. Zoey, Barry, and Kenny were added only because they were with Dawn two days later in Twinleaf Town. Where would we be without the four of them, though? Where would we be if they hadn't been in the completely wrong place? What if Drew didn't go to Petalburg with May? Without Drew, we wouldn't have even _known_ that you were at the center of this. Or, what if Zoey didn't decide to stay with Dawn? We wouldn't have found shelter with Candice, and on that note, where would we be without Candice?"

Misty found that the more she spoke, the more confident she became.

"What about Trip?" Misty plowed on. "Do you realize that Trip never had a file? That he was never in any danger? He never was on the that list, and he knew it, too. Where would we be without Trip? We needed him today, that's for sure."

Ash cast a quick, guilty glance toward the Nuvema trainer, who was now looking down. May brushed away another couple of tears as memories of her early-morning conversation with Ash the day they first gathered together returned in vivid detail. Ash had explained the sole reason he thought Trip might be in danger was because Barry had been attacked; yet, now it was clear the only reason Barry was in danger was by coincidence, and not because he was specifically targeted.

"Do you realize that Paul probably should be dead right now?" The bold suggestion surprised both Paul and Ash. Misty continued, "If not dead, then at least grievously ill. He's neither. By some incredible chance—a miracle, almost—we found that one ripe Pecha berry in the forest. Among a thousand shriveled, dead little berries, there was _one_ that was in perfect form. If we hadn't found it, despite our efforts to pick out the stingers and neutralize the poison, his health might have taken a turn for the worse. Where would we be without Paul? What would have happened had, Arceus-forbid, that poison got the best of him?"

The pace of Misty's words picked up.

"Do you realize that the G-Men should have found us months ago?" she pressed. "When Leaf bought those Hoenn tickets, she took a major risk. _We _took a major risk. What if Dawn hadn't taken a risk, too, and gone into town and run into Ursula? Where would we be without either of them? The same stands for everyone else. Where would we be without Cilan with his oddball ability to drive trains? Or Iris with her incredible knowledge of berries and their medical properties? Without May? Ritchie? Silver? Conway? Gary? _Leaf_? Where would you be without me standing in front of you bringing up all of this?"

Misty paused to breath, realizing she had been going on for a while by then.

"The point is, Ash," she said, more mellow, "that there are people who have been placed in your path by circumstances too great to be purely coincidental. Everything that has happened up to this point has been a chain reaction of events that have led us to the next step, or the next person. We have become intricately connected to each other through you, and we are here for a reason. So, in that sense, you're right. Everything that has happened so far _is_ your fault. But that's just it. _That_ is the Ash connection."

Ash said nothing, and neither did anyone else. What could be said in response to that? Silver stared at Misty for a long while before glancing down at his wounded arm, tenderly touching the afflicted area. He winced and frowned. Meanwhile, Trip's eyes studied Ash before flicking over to Conway.

"Tell them, Conway," he said suddenly. "Tell them about the others things you found."

The glasses-wearing trainer looked at him in surprise.

"What?"

"Tell them about Kyurem and Meloetta," Trip clarified firmly. "Because if today was a part of this domino effect—of things going wrong in the right way—then Kyurem and Meloetta are the next step." He looked pointedly at Ash. "And _you_ still have a job to finish."

The train abruptly decelerated, and those who were standing either toppled over or stumbled to maintain their balance. Ritchie's bucket of water spilled; the trainers sitting beside one another were compacted together. The train had come to a quick stop, and Cilan opened the door from the pilot and staggered inside.

"What happened?" Misty asked, grabbing a bar and helping herself stand up. "Did we crash into something?"

"No," Cilan shook his head. "We were passing by the Lake Acuity station, and there was someone waiting there, trying to stop us."

"A Team Rocket member?" Dawn asked, panicked. Zoey pushed Kenny and Barry off her and turned to look out the window.

"No, I don't think so, he-"

"-It's _Nando_," Zoey breathed out in shock. "That's Nando out there."

She pulled her gaze away from the window and slowly turned her head toward Ash with an indiscernible expression. Many others did the same, and Ash couldn't help but look at Misty, who managed a half-smile, believing she had made her impact.

_**March 4th, 2002. Afternoon. Unova Team Rocket Base.**_

Giovanni maintained a calm front as he briskly strode down the hallway alongside Dr. Zager with Jessie, James, and Meowth jogging behind them. His underlings had no illusions, though; they knew he was nervous, and they knew he was angry. An emergency phone call was never good news. The last Giovanni had received of such nature was after the fall of the Hoenn base.

Pierce was waiting in the esteemed leader's office with the phone ready. He had recently returned from his work to help reel in Team Rocket agents all over the nation as the higher administration moved forward with Project Legendary. Mewtwo and Moltres remained imprisoned in the background, like mere trinkets or items of decoration that had collected dust.

Giovanni planned to make use of them again, soon.

"Hello? Domino? Petrel? What's wrong? What's happened?" Giovanni demanded, switching to speaker phone.

"Sir." Domino's voice was shaking when she began speaking, and it intensified Giovanni's apprehension. Domino was one of his best and closest agents; she had climbed into a position of executive power through her cunning mind and tenacious demeanor. If she was scared, then they all had reason to be. "There's been a break-in here at the Sinnoh base. We're not entirely sure to what extent the G-Men were involved, but Ash Ketchum and the other thirteen trainers are all alive. I saw them."

Jessie and James exchanged disbelieving glances, and Giovanni breathed out in shock. Pierce and Dr. Zager also seemed uneasy.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Domino affirmed.

"How are they alive? The G-Men, they..." Giovanni trailed off, his eyebrows furrowing angrily as the truth of the matter came crashing down upon him. Lance intended this. He purposefully misled Giovanni by ruining the prestige and accountability of the G-Men, a move the Team Rocket leader would have never expected.

"There's more," Domino continued. "Kamon was here... and he..."

Giovanni gripped the edge of the desk upon the mention of the name.

"And he _what_?" he demanded coldly.

"... Sir," Petrel spoke for the first time, "Proton is dead. His throat... we think that..."

Giovanni moved backward slowly, sitting in his chair. He lowered his head and lifted his hand, massaging one of his temples.

"Say no more," he said. "Where are they now?"

"They escaped on the Ampharos Train," Domino answered. Pierce breathed in sharply, understanding the implications of such. Dr. Zager's frown deepened, and Jessie, James and Meowth appeared more confused, though also scared.

"Sir, we don't know what to do," Petrel added. "We're worried the G-Men will be here soon, and we are unprepared for them. And with the Ampharos Train gone, we have no way of getting out in a quick and effective manner."

Giovanni was silent.

"... Sir?" Domino inquired as her leader's refusal to speak extended into minutes. "... Sir!"

Giovanni reached out and ended the call. He then turned to face the others in his chair. His expression had deadpanned.

"We will not delay any longer," he said. "We must set our plans for Mewtwo to capture Kyurem into motion tonight. I do not care about what myths and warnings the Village Elder said. If we do not act now, we will lose our ground to Lance entirely."

"Sir, what about Ash Ketchum?" Pierce asked as Giovanni rose up.

"He won't matter once we secure Kyurem." He then looked straight at Jessie, James, and Meowth. "_Right_?"

"R-Right!" James assured him, though he did not seem so confident. Whether Giovanni detected the agent's unsurety was unknown. He turned his head again and left the room without a glance toward anyone else—including Mewtwo and Moltres.

"Jessie, Jessie," James began, nudging Jessie's arm after their superiors were gone. "I don't understand. What happened? Why did the Boss-"

"-He's abandoned them," Jessie cut him off darkly. "He's given up on the Sinnoh base, and now he's going to use Kyurem as his last resort."

.

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	26. XXIII: In Which Nando Gives His Blessing

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Chapter XXIII: In Which Nando Gives His Blessing

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_**June 16th, 1998. Late Evening. Shamouti Island.**_

Ash stared into the darkness, until his eyes started playing tricks on him and chalky, faded outlines of colorful circles began dancing on the ceiling. It hardly made sense. He should have been exhausted; he should have been asleep. Misty and Tracey were asleep. Pikachu and Togepi were asleep. Why couldn't the same happen for him?

Every time he thought to himself, 'OK, I'm going to fall asleep... _now_!', images of the past day and a half began playing again in his mind, like a movie reel. The arrival of the storm, the Shamouti people's celebrations, Melody's song, the three elemental orbs he had retrieved, the battle between the Legendary Birds, the rising of the great Lugia from the depths of the sea, the prophecy... It was so fantastic, so surreal, that he couldn't fully accept it had really happened.

Ash blinked away the hallucinations and turned on his side, thinking perhaps a change in position would help him sleep. It didn't. He turned on his other side. That didn't work either. Then he tried facedown, but it just made his neck hurt.

"Ketchum, stop moving. It's making the bed shake."

Ash was surprised to hear Misty's groggy voice from below. Then he remembered she had taken the bottom bunk that evening, and he dipped his head over the side, squinting at her. He could only make out her vibrant red hair in the dark room.

"Misty, you're awake?"

"Yeah, thanks to you."

"Oh... sorry..." Ash returned to lying flat on his back, staring at the ceiling. "I guess I just can't sleep."

Misty was silent for a while, and Ash presumed she had dozed off again. Then, she spoke.

"I guess that's not surprising."

Ash furrowed his eyebrows and looked down at her a second time.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" he asked. He heard the covers move and watched her hair scrunch up. She was shrugging.

"You know.. after everything that happened today..." she began, her voice trailing off for a moment. "You've probably got a ton of adrenaline still in you, and it's keeping you up."

"Adrenaline?" Ash puzzled. "What's that?"

"It's..." Misty paused, trying to conjure up a definition. When nothing came, she grew frustrated and added, "Whatever, don't ask stupid questions. You should know what adrenaline is anyway."

"Hey! It's not a stupid question!" Ash protested. "My mom says there is no such thing as a stupid question!"

Misty let out a frustrated sigh, pressing her hands up against her forehead and giving the conundrum some more thought.

"Adrenaline... is..." she started slowly, "... when your heart begins to race, and you feel a little light-headed. Your palms might start to sweat a bit, and you breathe faster than usual—or not at all. You feel it when you're scared or really excited or nervous. You feel it during a Pokémon battle or when you have to talk in front of a bunch of people you don't know. Sometimes you feel it when you kiss someone you like a lot."

"Oh." Ash flopped his head back down on his pillow. "... Kissing feels the same as a Pokémon battle?"

"_That's_ what you got out of this?"

"Sorry! It just seems weird."

"How?"

"I dunno... just that Pokémon battles are so cool, and that kissing seems kind of gross."

"_Gross_? How could it be gross?" Misty scoffed. "Kissing is a hundred times better than a Pokémon battle!"

"How would_ you_ know? Have you ever kissed anyone?"

"I-I..." Misty stammered. She could feel blood rushing to her cheeks. "I just do, OK?"

"Well, whatever," Ash dismissed. "Adrenaline, huh? Well, I was scared, excited, _and_ nervous today, so that's like a triple whammy. When does it go away? When do I stop seeing pictures when I close my eyes? I really gotta get to sleep. My mom said she wanted to have breakfast with us tomorrow before she goes back to Pallet Town with Professor Oak, and she'll get really weird if I looked like a zombie."

"You'll sleep eventually," Misty consoled. "The adrenaline won't stay forever. I don't know about the pictures, though. That's something entirely different."

"Yeah..." Ash turned on his side again.

Misty sensed her friend's uneasiness and asked, "Ash? Is something wrong?"

"I'm fine," Ash assured her. "Just thinking."

"About what?"

"The prophecy. You think it was real?"

"Well..." Misty drawled, "... you _did_ kind of save the world, so there's that. Also, your name is in it. It doesn't really get more specific than that."

"I guess so," Ash conceded. "I can't be the only Ash in the world, though. The world didn't _really_ turn to me. No one except you and some other people even know it was me."

"But are there any other Ashs that would've done what you did?" Misty asked. "Maybe the _whole_ world didn't turn to you, but you saved it anyway. That's got to mean something, right?"

"Maybe..." Ash mused. "I mean, I'd do it all over again if I had to."

Misty felt her breath catch, and she found that she couldn't say anything in response.

"I wouldn't want to, though," Ash continued.

Misty managed to push out a short, strained chuckle and add, "Why not? Last night, after the ceremony, you were gung-ho about being the Chosen One."

"But that was before Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno started fighting," Ash replied. "Collecting a bunch of glowing balls isn't that hard. Collecting glowing balls while a bunch of really powerful Pokémon are attacking one another is a bit tougher. Besides, I was worried about my Pokémon and you guys and everyone else. I didn't want anything bad to happen to you if I messed up."

"You were the one that almost drowned," Misty pointed out. She meant to say it casually, but it was still too soon. Her voice wavered slightly.

Ash didn't miss a beat before saying, "I'd rather drown a dozen times than watch my friends get hurt."

_**March 4th, 2002. Late Afternoon. Lake Acuity.**_

"Sunflora, use Synthesis."

Sunflora's leaves, which were pressed flush against Leaf's wound, began glowing white. Ash's empty gaze, however, remained fixated on the face of his unconscious friend. After Nando met up with the group at the station, he immediately took them to the Pokémon Center and began caring for the ailing G-Men agent. Most of the teens stayed at Leaf's bedside, watching and waiting.

The glow of Sunflora's leaves eventually dimmed, and she pulled them away, and all that remained was a long, pinkish scar across Leaf's abdomen.

"It will continue to heal with time," Nando said, "but it will never disappear completely."

"Arceus Nando," Zoey breathed. "That's incredible. Where did you learn to do that?"

"It was not I who learned," Nando corrected. "It was Sunflora."

"Will she be OK?" Gary asked.

"Yes, I believe so," Nando answered. "She just needs her rest. It appears she's been through a lot. You've all been through a lot—today and these past couple of months."

"Good." Trip entered the room and leaned against the door frame. "Conway plugged in Leaf's laptop and pulled up the files he downloaded onto his flash drive. You all should hear about this."

A few uneasy glances were exchanged among some; others, like Misty and Cilan, knew exactly what Trip was talking about and were the first to follow him. Both Gary and Ash seemed to linger behind a little longer, however, and Trip pressed his lips together before approaching.

"She'll be fine, Ash," he said plainly.

"It's not that easy," Gary interjected. He was sitting on the edge of the bed. "Ash and I have known Leaf since we were babies. You've known her for several months. To be honest, you are not as emotionally impacted by this situation as we are. Basic stuff, really."

Trip appeared annoyed that the researcher had borrowed his catchphrase and retorted, "You don't think this whole thing has been upsetting to me? To any of us? Look, you can stay with Leaf if you want." Trip then looked pointedly at Ash. "I just want him."

Ash blinked, mildly surprised, but said nothing. Trip let out a long sigh.

"I know you had your whole emotional meltdown about how you think you're not the Chosen One," the Unova trainer began, "but this is really important to me. All things considered, you owe me at least this."

Ash didn't need to be pushed any further.

"All right," he agreed before heading out the door. Trip was about to follow, but at the last moment, he turned to face Gary again.

"It's obvious you care a lot about Leaf," he started slowly, "so I'm sure you understand the sacrifices she made for Ash because she thought he was the Chosen One. We've all made sacrifices. If you still believe, then this is not only important for you, but for her, too."

* * *

The group began to gather in the downstairs lobby. Conway sat in the middle of one sofa, his legs crisscrossed, with Leaf's laptop balanced on his knees but anchored by his hands on the keyboard.

Ritchie sat across from him, a small towel slung around his shoulders. He had recently taken a shower and changed into a fresh set of clothing while Nurse Joy took his blood-stained apparel, promising to do her best to clean them.

Once Trip and Ash arrived, the discussion could begin. Ash couldn't seem to focus, though, and he rubbed his left temple with a single hand while staring absently at his shoes. Misty's lips tightened, watching him.

"So, what is all this you have to show us?" Drew asked. He sat between May and Iris on the ground, with one leg pulled up under him.

"Well, as some of you might have already heard or guessed," Conway began smoothly, "while waiting in the Command Center, Candice, Ritchie, Cilan, and I—mostly I—gained access into a server called Project Legendary. Now, from what I've heard, Silver has already told you a bit about this project, but what I found on this server paints a more complete picture."

Gary came down the stairs and folded his arms, listening as he fell back against the wall. His arrival was so inconspicuous, however, that no one noticed it.

"First, let's give this project some history," Conway continued. "Team Rocket's interest in Mew began sixteen years ago when an agent named Miyamoto began pursuing Mew, recording its cries, taking notes, and eventually trying to capture it. She died in her efforts, and Project Legendary began eight years later in 1994 based on her findings. There are several lab reports that show Team Rocket scientists began experimenting with cloning that year. There are also some photographs and field notes regarding an ancient worshiping ground for Mew. These field notes were completed by someone named Dr. Blair."

Paul's eyebrows shot up.

"What was that again?"

"What?" Conway was thrown off by the interruption.

"The researcher's name was Dr. _Blair_?"

"Ah... yes." Conway nodded. "There are several field notes taken under his name throughout most of February and early March in '94. The strange thing is, after that, it stops. Dr. Blair's name never shows up again, and there's nothing on Mew for _years_."

"It's not strange," Silver spoke up. "I explained this once before. Project Legendary hit a dead end for a while because a researcher dropped out."

Paul pressed a hand to his face, thinking, but he said nothing.

"Didn't they get another researcher, though?" Dawn asked.

"Yes," Silver affirmed.

"In early '97," Conway added, putting two and two together. "And his name was Dr. Fuji. That's when I first saw his name in the documents I found. In the years between '94 and '97, however, Team Rocket continued developing its cloning technology without much success. Most of the clones didn't live long or never became functional beings. Then Dr. Fuji came on, and his team found a fossilized eyelash of Mew. Now they just needed to perfect their cloning technology, but..."

"They were out of funding," Silver finished. "When things fail, it costs a lot of money. I remember it was a problem, because my father had to stop paying some field agents. He eventually secured his investor, though. What you're saying is nothing new."

May exchanged a tentative glance with Drew. He was frowning, but he seemed to be handling hearing such better than usual.

"Give him just a chance to finish, Silver," Dawn gently chastised.

Conway grinned.

"Thank you, Dawn," he said before clearing his throat to continue. "And so Mewtwo was finally created—but he escaped. He destroyed the lab in which he was born, but Giovanni found him and presented himself as a friend. That's when he began harnessing Mewtwo's power and trying to control him. Well, Mewtwo didn't like that, so he escaped again and destroyed the Viridian City Gym, where the original Team Rocket base was located. It took more than a year before they found him again. Now this is where it gets interesting, because it's when Ash Ketchum enters the picture."

"Mt. Quena, right?" Barry inquired. "That's when Ash helped Mewtwo escape from Giovanni."

"Right," Conway affirmed. "But the big questions have always remained: Why did they expand their interests beyond Ash, Misty, and Brock? How did May and Zoey and Paul and everyone else fall on Team Rocket's radar? Where does the Shamouti prophecy fit into this, if it does at all? The files Team Rocket kept of you—the 'hit list,' as Iris put it—do give us some answers, some of which we had always assumed.

Misty and Brock were added not only because they were there on Mt. Quena, but also because they were traveling companions of Ash. Obvious, right? The same essentially stands for Tracey, May, Max, Dawn, Iris, and Cilan. All added because they were traveling companions. Then we have Gary, Ritchie, and Paul, who were added because they had significant rivalries with Ash. Drew, Zoey, Barry, and Kenny are the oddballs additions, because they mainly know Ash through association with May and Dawn, so why were they included? Misty mentioned this briefly on the train, but it really was simply unfortunate timing. Zoey, Barry, and Kenny's files all have a single note: 'Present at the Twinleaf scene on December 21st, 2001.' Drew's file says something similar, but it also talks about how he protected May and Max and that he was spotted again in Viridian City on December 24th, 2001."

"Holy smokes," Ritchie cut in suddenly. "Wasn't that the night Drew went to get jelly-filled donuts for Ash?"

"Yeah, I think so," Zoey said with a nod. "Arceus, they were _close_."

"A little too close for comfort," Cilan agreed, mildly disturbed. "I suppose that makes Lance's plan to have us die in that bus crash _very_ well-timed."

"OK..." Gary finally joined the rest of the group, sitting among them. "While this is all completely pertinent information, there are still a few holes. It seems pretty obvious we were tracked, but... why? Yes, Ash helped Mewtwo escape. That definitely put him on Giovanni's bad side. But to go this far for someone who was, at the time, only 11? To track him and his friends for almost five years? That's not just paranoia. It's over the top."

"Precisely." Conway adjusted his glasses. "But you should know better, Gary. Those holes, after all, were the very basis of Leaf's theory that the Shamouti prophecy was somehow involved. It would be over the top if Ash was just a regular, bold-blooded 11-year-old to Giovanni. He wasn't, though. He was the Chosen One. Leaf's theory is absolutely correct."

Conway pulled up Ash's file and turned the laptop around to show everyone. The red 'DECEASED' sign was slashed through his photo as it was for so many others. A red dot, indicating high priority, was next to his name.

"The notes section on his file reads, quote: 'Highly capable trainer who foiled Mt. Quena mission in January 1999. Christened 'Chosen One' by natives of Shamouti Island in the Orange Archipelago in 1998,'" Conway said.

"Arceus," Drew muttered under his breath before adding in a normal voice, "But how is it possible they knew about the Shamouti prophecy? Leaf has said before that no one except the G-Men and those who were there to witness Ash save the world knows he did it. We only know because Leaf told us about it."

Ash perked up, and his eyes widened as realization hit him. Pikachu, who was on his trainer's lap, looked up at him curiously.

"And... And she's not wrong," Ash added.

"What do you mean?" May inquired, tilting her head.

Now everyone's attention was on the raven-haired trainer.

"When I met up with Proton," Ash began slowly, "he said I was the one 'those two Rocket agents' had been tracking for years. Who are the two Rocket agents that have been following us for years?"

"Oh Mew," Misty said sharply, reaching Ash's same conclusion. "Jessie and James. We've seen them and Meowth from the very beginning—and they were there when the Shamouti isles were attacked."

"And they _never stopped_," Dawn appalled. "They followed Ash from Kanto to Johto to Hoenn to Sinnoh to Unova, right?"

"Right," Iris affirmed. "Cilan and I ran into them several times with Ash."

"Wait, wait, wait," Trip interjected suddenly. "_Time out_. Let me get this straight." He looked at Ash. "You've had a duo of Rocket agents following you around for almost five years, and when all this first began, you didn't even stop to think for a moment, 'Hey, maybe these guys are the reason Team Rocket has been after me and all my friends'?"

"To be fair," Paul began, "I have run into those Rockets a couple times, and I can attest that they are a couple of the most incompetent human beings on the face of the planet."

"Agreed," Dawn said with a nod. "I just don't think any of us even considered them... a threat? They were bad people, but in a goofy kind of way."

"They're _Team Rocket_ members," Trip said, exasperated.

"They're relatively harmless, though," May persisted. "I mean, yes, they tried to steal our Pokémon—a lot—but they sometimes even helped us out. They were more of a thorn in our sides than anything."

"All right," Silver sighed, frustrated. "Are you all seriously trying to defend the actions of a couple scumbag Rocket agents? I don't care if you think they were comedic or whatever. For months, you've all wondered why Team Rocket had it out for you, and those Rockets are your answer. They sold you out."

Silence.

Ash seemed distracted again. Pikachu climbed onto his trainer's shoulder and nuzzled his cheek.

"Conway," Trip broke in, "continue."

"Well, ah..." Conway took a moment to reorganize his thoughts. "So skip from January 1999 to December 2001. Team Rocket successfully captured Mewtwo again, and by then, they had built this list of people they need... well, out of the way. I'm sure most of you know the story from this point. Giovanni sent Mewtwo to Cerulean City, Petalburg City, Veilstone City, Twinleaf Town... but if the objective was to kill you, Mewtwo failed. Why? Because Giovanni still couldn't control Mewtwo. He could contain him, but he couldn't bend his will to his. There needed to be a way for Giovanni to fix that. Enter Meloetta."

"What's a Meloetta?" May inquired.

"Meloetta. The Melody Pokémon. Its melodies are sung with a special vocalization method that can control the feelings of those who hear it," Conway recited the Pokédex entry from memory. He then added, "It's a Legendary Pokémon found in Unova."

"And from that dex entry, it sounds like the perfect Pokémon to use if you want to manipulate someone into doing your bidding," Kenny mumbled.

"It's not so simple." Everyone's head turned as Nando entered the room. "I have heard many legends of this Meloetta. It has been my greatest dream to hear its song. Yet, this song is not controlling in its purest form. Music guides emotion. Meloetta does the same. She can guide you to happiness or sadness or-"

"-submission?" Iris suggested. Nando shook his head.

"I already explained-" the minstrel began, but Conway cut him off.

"-Nando's right, actually," he said. "There is no song of Meloetta's that can force obedience. At least, none that have ever been studied. But, what Team Rocket did was record Meloetta's voice and then manipulate so it could control Mewtwo. The completed sound bite was implemented into new earpieces in Mewtwo's suit. Team Rocket also created a smaller device that plays the same high-frequency song, except it attaches to the neck. That's how they managed to capture Moltres... and now they're going to make a new capture."

"A new capture?" Drew inquired.

"Yes. You see, it appears that Giovanni originally intended to capture all three of the Legendary Birds, but Mewtwo only brought him one."

"Sounds like there's still some fight in him," Misty mused.

"Maybe," Conway conceded. "The point is, Moltres alone doesn't quite achieve the effect Giovanni wants. Temperatures are indeed dropping at record-breaking levels, but that has been the extent of it. When Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno were all fighting several years ago, the world's weather patterns were a complete mess. Violent storms in odd places, restless seas—people died. It's my guess that Giovanni wanted to recreate this chaos and use it to overpower the G-Men and take Lance's seat by force."

"The Championship title doesn't work like that," Paul scoffed. "Giovanni's plan is severely flawed. You don't become Champion by way of a military coup."

"It's obvious you're blind to the politics of the G-Men, then," Silver said derisively. "A decade or two ago, it would have been a completely delusional plan. It still is, but the meaning and power behind the Championship is different. It's a position of political power, not honor or pageantry. A modern Champion is the equivalent of a dictator, and that kind of power _can_ be wrestled away by force."

"Lance, Wallace, Cynthia, and Alder are _not_ dictators," Iris protested.

"Debatable." Silver shrugged. "They are the lesser of two evils, though. If my father attain's Lance's power, I can assure you it will be a lot worse."

"So is the intention to capture Zapdos and Articuno, too?" Zoey asked.

"No, actually," Conway corrected, adjusting his glasses. "It appears he's improvising. The world is turning cold without Moltres's flame, so he's sticking with the theme of ice. His next target is Kyurem, a Dragon/Ice-type Pokémon."

Iris breathed in sharply, her fingers curling into her jeans. Cilan furrowed his eyebrows, glancing at her.

"When is he going to capture it?" Dawn asked.

"I don't know."

"What will he do with it?" she pressed.

"I don't know, either. I can guess that the next Ice Age will be coming a lot fast than science originally estimated, however."

"What-"

"-That is literally all the information I have, Dawn," Conway said honestly. "We could spend all night speculating what could happen, but it wouldn't change a thing.

"Exactly," Trip agreed, "which is why we need to take action."

He turned his head toward Ash, and the rest did the same. Ash straightened up, but frowned.

"Ah... Trip..." he began carefully. "I promised I would hear you and Conway and all this out, and I did. Misty, I heard you, too. I _am_ listening, and I really do appreciate the faith. I guess it's a compliment in a way. But I don't have anything to offer you guys. I haven't offered anything to you guys anyway, except trouble. I just don't want to do it anymore."

The disappointment that hung in the air was evident. Ash closed his eyes and tightened his grip on Pikachu, hanging his head.

"Well," Gary said, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth, "I guess that's that."

He then disappeared back up the stairs.

**_March 4th, 2002. Late Afternoon. Snowpoint City._**

Lance kept a hand pressed to his mouth as he looked out the window at the city below. The last few hours had been spent wordlessly. Alder and Wallace had chatted for a bit, but for the most part, everyone sat in silence. Lance knew Steven had spent much of their down time watching him.

"Madam Champion," began a younger G-Men agent whom the Champions had brought along, addressing Cynthia as he entered the room. "We've just received a message from the Lake Acuity Pokémon Center. The fourteen children have arrived safely."

"Is there any news on Leaf?" Lance asked in a low voice.

"Yes, sir," the young agent replied. "According to Nurse Joy, she had a laceration across her lower abdomen and perhaps a minor concussion. They're not sure. Gary and some of the children were saying she was speaking incoherently earlier, which would suggest yes."

"Excuse me, 'they're'?" Lance inquired.

"A man named Nando cared for her."

"Great..." Lance mumbled. "Well, how's she doing?"

"She's recovering, sir. She's going to be fine," the agent answered. "Also, we'll be landing in several minutes, so the pilot requested that you buckle up."

Cynthia smiled, relieved.

"Thank you, Aron," the Sinnoh Champion said, and the agent nodded before leaving. "Well, there we have it. They're safe."

"Let's not be hasty to say such," Lance admonished as he pulled on the strap of his seat belt and secured himself.

* * *

Candice could finally breathe when she heard the sound of a plane outside.

She had endured many prodding questions from her fellow gym leaders and regional Elite Four members, who were confused as to what had happened and why Cynthia had called them there. All they understood was that the situation was serious, and that Team Rocket was likely involved. Candice did not deny their speculation, but she had received specific instruction from the G-Men leadership not to reveal any 'sensitive information.'

The vagueness of their order rendered her completely silent. What qualified as 'sensitive information'? The fact that Ash and the thirteen other trainers were alive? The location of the Sinnoh base? How did it matter anyway? Everything seemed to be falling apart around her, and because she could say nothing, she acted as though she were too shaken to speak. It was humiliating in its own right.

A plane, however, meant the arrival of Cynthia and the other Champions, who would surely straighten everything out.

She and the other trainers respectfully rose to their feet when the Champions entered Candice's living room, Fantina having let them in. The five-month pregnant Cynthia was the last to amble inside, and she was quickly met with the same questions Candice had heard.

"Cynthia, what's going on?" Lucian's tone was hurried, almost demanding, but he managed to remain respectful. "This has all been so mysterious to us, and no one seems to have any answers. Has another Team Rocket base been found? If so, why the sense of emergency? We took a few days to gather to take down the Hoenn base. You asked us to be here in six hours!"

"I'm sorry that this has been so distressing," Cynthia sincerely apologized. "Yes, there is another Team Rocket base near here. The situation is urgent because-"

"-Cynthia," Lance abruptly cut her off. "Candice, let's talk in private"

Cynthia appeared abnormally irritated by the subject change, but Candice leapt to her feet and nodded before leading the Champions into the kitchen. Cynthia apologized again to her gym leader and Elite Four members before Lance shut the door, cutting them off. Cynthia's lip twitched. Wallace frowned, watching her. It was clear her extraordinary patience was finally wearing thin.

Candice, meanwhile, could feel her hands start to shake, intimidated. The air was tense, and Candice knew she was in the wrong. A matter as serious as the location of a Rocket base should have been reported immediately to the G-Men, but instead, Candice had chosen to support the rogue pack of trainers in their now-failed mission to save Moltres and Mewtwo. She wondered if doing so would compromise her position as a gym leader and, feeling her knees go weak, sat down at her small two-person table.

"Have you told them anything?" Lance asked, sitting across from her.

"Sorry?"

"Did you say anything about Ash and the other beings alive?" Lance clarified.

"No." Candice shook her head.

"OK... good," Lance mused. "Where is it?"

"The Ampharos Train," Candice answered quickly. "I mean, below the Ampharos Train. Team Rocket owns the Ampharos Train. The base is connected to its command center."

"Oh my," Wallace appalled. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." Candice nodded. "I can take you there."

"We'll arrange for that soon," Cynthia interjected. "Thank you, Candice. You're excused."

Lance sent Cynthia a nasty look, and Candice, her bottom lip quivering, stood up. Cynthia, sensing the Snowpoint Gym Leader's anxiety, gently touched her shoulder.

"It's OK," she gently reassured her. "Everything's going to be fine. You're not in trouble."

The perceptive intervention helped Candice relax, and she tentatively asked, "Where are Zoey and the others? Are they OK?"

"Yes, they're all right," Cynthia answered. "They're in a Pokémon Center at Lake Acuity. Lance, Wallace, Alder, Steven and I will be discussing options as to what we do with them next, but they're fine."

"Thank you, Cynthia." Candice was a bit teary-eyed as she hugged the Champion. Cynthia chuckled and affectionately wrapped an arm around the girl. Her pregnant belly made the sweet gesture a little uncomfortable, but it was appreciated nonetheless.

As soon as Candice had left, Lance spoke up.

"Cynthia, I was _not_ done," he said. "There are many things I still need to talk to her about."

Cynthia's expression turned serious before facing the Indigo Champion."

"Oh, _yes you are_." Steven raised an eyebrow, though Wallace and Alder seemed more surprised. Cynthia was angry. "Lance, this is my jurisdiction. The decisions made here lie with me."

"I'm not trying to walk over you, Cynthia," Lance retorted.

"What was that in there, then?" Cynthia demanded. "Cutting me off like that in front of my own gym leaders and Elite Four? It's embarrassing, it undermines my authority, and I won't stand for it."

"I didn't want you to say anything compromising."

"And so what?" Cynthia persisted. "So what if they know Ash is alive? They deserve to know. They're here. They're making a sacrifice. They're probably going to know within 48 hours anyway, so why not now? If we wait, if we keep them cut off, we'll alienate them."

"It matters if you still want to keep Ash and the others safe," Lance fought back.

"I trust them."

"You trust too easily," Lance criticized. "Four years ago, I was in relentless pursuit of Team Rocket, and the entire time, their leader was right under my nose. One of my very own gym leaders, Giovanni Paul, was the man I had been seeking for so long. You don't think the same is possible here?"

"I know my gym leaders. I have a relationship with them. I would know if there was a problem. You, on the other hand, are not at all emotionally invested in your gym leaders, and that's precisely why Giovanni got away with it."

Lance growled and stood up again.

"_Emotions_. You let your emotions and empathy take over you, and I swear, it _will_ come back to bite you at some point if you can't learn to separate your job from your personal feelings."

"That is the way_ I_ chose to run _my_ branch of the G-Men organization," Cynthia replied firmly, "and I accept the consequences of that."

Lance flinched, realizing she was referring to their conversation regarding Solidad and Chris last month.

"That's enough you two," Alder interrupted. "Fighting never gets us anywhere."

Both Lance and Cynthia stood down, taking a moment to calm themselves. Wallace watched Cynthia in awe, though. Watching the Sinnoh Champion stand up for herself was always an incredible show.

"What are we going to do about Ash and the others?" Cynthia asked after a long moment, subdued. "We can't leave them at the Pokémon Center forever. We don't know what Giovanni's doing, but we certainly don't want Mewtwo and Moltres wreaking havoc upon them."

"I know," Lance replied. "I'm not entirely sure yet."

"If I may," Wallace suddenly interjected, "I have a suggestion. Cynthia?"

Cynthia seemed quite surprised, but pleased by the respectful deference to her. Lance remained expressionless, and Steven half-smiled. It was a small social courtesy, but it made a large impact and reset the entire playing field—in his wife's favor.

"Please, let's hear it," Cynthia said.

Wallace took a quick, silent breath.

"We could send the Fortree City Gym Leader, Winona, to Lake Acuity to pick up the children. She can operate an aircraft," he explained simply. "She'll take them to a safer location, and it will be a completely private operation. Everything will be within our control."

"Private—except for the fact that Winona would know," Lance grunted.

"I'd trust Winona with my life," Wallace replied. "She'll take care of them."

"Well, I like it," Cynthia said. "Let's do it."

Lance seemed unsure, and Steven furrowed his eyebrows. The former Hoenn Champion cast a careful glance toward Alder and quickly realized the Unova Champion would not, as usual, take a side. He then looked back at Lance standing across from his wife and Wallace. The balance was equal. Something had to give.

"Lance," Steven began calmly, decidedly using any last shreds of influence from his former title to tip the scale. "It will be all right. I know Winona, too."

Lance frowned.

"All right," the Indigo Champion gave in with a grumble. "Wallace, call Winona. We'll have her take them to Dragon's Den—where they should have been all along. I'll contact Clair and tell her to expect them. We'll also need to warn Nurse Joy."

Lance left immediately after saying that, and Cynthia let out a long, happy sigh before turning to Wallace.

"Thank you," she said. "I appreciate what you did more than I can put into words."

"Oh Cynthia, I didn't do much of anything..." Wallace replied.

"You two contested Lance and won," Steven slid into the conversation. "That is something. Congratulations. You've just entered the world of politics."

_**March 4th, 2002. Early Evening. Lake Acuity.**_

Nurse Joy was in a frenzy.

Her particular center had never accommodated so many trainers before, and feeding them would be quite a task. One of the teens, a tall, green-haired male, offered to help, but she politely refused. It wouldn't have felt right to accept help from one of her guests, especially after all the hardships they had endured. Thankfully, Chansey was there to help chop the vegetables with her stubby hands.

When she heard the phone begin to ring, she let out a stressed sigh but picked it up anyway. Phone calls were now too important to ignore.

"You've reached the Lake Acuity Pokémon Center location," she recited her usual greeting. "How may I help you?"

Silver happened to pass by the very moment she answered, and he narrowed his gaze. She had gone through a few phone exchanges since their arrival, and he could only guess to whom she was talking. He rounded the corner, found another phone, picked it up, and pressed it to his ear.

"_Hello, Nurse Joy. You're speaking with Wallace Reyes. I called to give you a bit of a heads-up._"

"_Oh... What's happening?_"

"_Tonight, a woman named Winona will be coming to your center by plane to take the children to a safe location. We didn't want you to be alarmed._"

"_I see._"

"_However, Lance requests that you give the children no indication of this. They've demonstrated some... impulsiveness over the past several months, and we wouldn't them to try to leave before she arrives._"

Silver hung up. It was all he needed to hear. The G-Men were coming.

_**March 4th, 2002. Evening. Sinnoh Team Rocket Base.**_

Petrel had never seen Domino cry.

In fact, Petrel had never seen any emotion other than anger out of her. She was angry now, but it was a different brand of anger than he had ever seen. It was fury that came with the feeling of utter betrayal and disappointment, the kind that made a person want to scream but instead led them to tears. So there she sat against the wall outside Proton's office, her arms wrapped around her legs and her mascara running.

"After everything I did for Team Rocket... after the years of dedication... this is what I end up with," she mumbled with a sniffle. "I came here looking for a home, and I thought I found it. I guess not, though."

Petrel frowned. He could relate. He'd joined Team Rocket for similar reasons.

"You and I, we could probably get out ourselves," he gently suggested.

"And abandon everyone else here? If we did that, we'd be no better," Domino muttered bitterly. "I will hold true to what I've always been taught was the most important value of this organization: unbreakable loyalty to each other. If the Sinnoh base goes down today, then I'm going down with it."

Petrel stared at her for a long moment, then he turned and slid down against the same wall, sitting beside her. She cast him a quick glance before looking forward again.

Time passed. Domino and Petrel could hear a break-in upstairs.

_**March 4th, 2002. Evening. Lake Acuity.**_

"Are you done with this?" Misty addressed the question to Conway as her hand hovered over Leaf's laptop, which was closed and lying flat on a coffee table in the lobby. After an awkwardly quiet dinner, the group split into several smaller factions. Gary returned to Leaf's bedroom; the agent still had yet to wake up. Ash took Pikachu upstairs, declaring he wanted to be alone. Drew, May, Trip, Iris, and Cilan also went upstairs. Dawn, Zoey, Barry, Kenny, Conway, Ritchie, and (perhaps most surprisingly) Paul remained in the lobby, recounting their fantastic tale to Nando. Silver was nowhere to be found, though few seemed concerned.

"Yes, go ahead," Conway answered. Misty pulled out the flash drive and handed it to him before sitting down and booting it up.

"What do you want it for, Misty?" Dawn asked curiously.

"I want to do some more research on Meloetta," Misty answered simply.

"I could help you with that," Nando offered. "No need to sort through the misinformation of the Internet."

"Well..." Misty trailed off. "Do you know where to find her?"

Paul looked at the redhead with raised eyebrows. Everyone else was similarly surprised, understanding the implications of such a search. Kenny, however, seemed especially intrigued, and his lips twitched into a half-smile.

"Ah, a tricky question," Nando mused. "Meloetta is very shy. She keeps away from cities and roads and all manners of human civilization and noise pollution, so very few people have heard her song, much less seen her. There is no established location for her."

"Great." Misty sighed. "Not what I wanted to hear..."

"However," Nando continued, "there have been a few sightings in White Forest. Tall grass, long, winding trees that twist into the sky... it's a haven for Pokémon."

"White Forest..." Misty mumbled to herself before pulling up an Internet browser and typing it in to the search bar.

"Wait, wait," Kenny began with a grin. He leapt off the couch on which he was sitting and crossed the aisle to sit beside Misty. "Are we on the same wavelength? Are you thinkin' what I'm thinkin'? 'Cause if so, that's awesome."

"I don't know, Kenny, what are you thinking?" Misty asked, slightly amused.

"Meloetta's dex entry. It said her songs can control how people feel. If her songs—even if manipulated—can control Mewtwo, maybe there's a way her music could free Mewtwo," Kenny answered.

"I guess we are thinking the same thing then," Misty replied.

"Wait, really?" Dawn's eyes lit up. "Do you seriously think that could work?"

"Huh," Ritchie pondered aloud, slowly nodding his head. "Hey, Nando, as our resident Meloetta expert, what do you think?"

"I wouldn't say I'm an expert."

"Still, what's your opinion?" Zoey asked.

"Well, let's see..." Nando was silent for a long moment as he turned the idea over in his mind. "I don't know if any of Meloetta's natural songs could completely reverse any sort of unnatural control, but... I suppose her melodies could soothe a controlled Pokémon, giving them some space in their clouded mind and perhaps a chance to regain their own free will."

"I really don't see the point of having this conversation," Paul interjected suddenly. "Ash is unwilling. Why get into this?"

"Why is everything hinged on Ash?" Conway joined in, too. "You all have brought yourselves this far _without_ Ash's help. I've heard the story of your journey, and now I've had the chance to be a part of it. Ash is dead weight that you've been dragging around. You don't need him."

Misty narrowed her gaze, irritated, and Dawn sighed.

"It's not so simple," the blunette said.

"Oh, but it is," Conway replied with a shrug. "I'm sorry. I don't believe in divine forces. Ash being the Chosen One is an invention of your minds. Yes, I will admit you've had amazing luck for which the statistical chances are improbable, but _really_?"

"To answer Paul's question," Misty said after clearing her throat, brushing Conway off. "Ash will change his mind."

"How can you be so sure?" Zoey didn't seem especially doubtful; just curious.

"Ash said something that made me sure he would: that he didn't want to do it anymore," Misty replied. "'Want' is the key word. Ash has never liked being the Chosen One. Actually, that's wrong. He liked it for the first three hours, but after everything went south, he didn't 'want' to do it anymore. But he still did it anyway."

"Out of obligation?" Barry blinked. "Kind of a weird way to go about it, don'cha think?"

"No, it's not obligation." Misty shook her head. "If he had done it out of pure obligation—responsibility—then he would have failed. In fact, I think that's what Ash's main problem has been these past couple months. He's been traveling with us, vying to save Mewtwo and Moltres for the wrong reasons. There's no power in empty obligation."

"I'm not sure I completely understand," Zoey admitted.

"I do," Dawn said with a nod. "Despite his boyish—sometimes _boorish_—personality and drive to challenge gyms and become a Master someday... Ash's existence revolves completely around his friends, family, and Pokémon. He's not happy if we aren't, and he draws on us for support and faith when things get bad. I suppose he became so scared that something would happen to us, though, that he lost that. I mean, Ash was all about saving Mewtwo and Moltres at the beginning; ready and raring to go. This has been a long, draining journey though. I think as time has passed, everything just started weighing heavily on him... and it put him into a bad place."

"You hit the nail on the head, Dawn," Misty commended. "You see, normally when Ash saves the world, it happens within the span of two days, so it's a huge whirlwind of adrenaline and courage. But now we've been going on and on for more than two months now, and it's worn him down."

Paul still seemed a little unsure.

"You really think he's going to change his mind?" he asked.

"I don't think it," Misty answered. "I know it."

Paul continued to stare at her for a while. Then, he stood and crossed the way to her sofa, as well.

"All right," he said. "Let's take a look at this White Forest then."

* * *

"Two months," Drew began, shaking his head. "Two months dealing with all of this for no reason, and you knew all along?"

"Yes." Trip nodded. "Is there a problem with that?"

"No, I just..." Drew paused to think over his words. "... I can't decide whether you're a complete idiot or a saint."

"I'll take the second one," Trip said with a smirk. "Probably an exaggeration, though."

"Yeah, but..." Iris started, though she seemed a little absent-minded, "for all the frustrations we went through—with each other and with Ash—you had that in your back pocket the entire time. Ash probably feels terrible now that he knows."

"Despite what you may think, it's not my goal to make Ash feel terrible," Trip replied. "I didn't mention it for that reason."

"Another question," Drew interjected. "If you already knew you were never on that list, why did you come along?"

Cilan frowned and glanced at the Nuvema trainer. The blond didn't seem fazed by the question, however.

"I have a complicated situation with my parents. I just wanted to leave," Trip replied coolly.

"Ah. Actually, I really do get the whole 'bad parents' problem. I had a poor relationship with my father, and I left home for reasons related to it," Drew explained. "Now, I want nothing to do with him."

"That so?" Trip raised an eyebrow. May was also looking at her rival curiously.

Drew nodded before adding, "I'll make you a deal. If you tell me about your parents, I'll tell you about mine."

"No deal." Trip didn't hesitate. "Sorry, I'd rather not get into specifics."

"All right. That's fine." Drew shrugged.

"If it's any consolation, Trip," May began sweetly, "I'm really, really glad you did come. I've appreciated having you here, and your presence has mattered."

Trip stared. Then, he let out a half-chuckle before glancing away with a smile.

"May?" he began simply.

"Yes?"

"Don't ever change."

May turned pink, embarrassed, but she nodded anyway. Drew couldn't help but smile at her, too, and he rubbed his hand up and down her back a few times before letting it drop off to the side again. Cilan raised an eyebrow, but he seemed charmed. There had definitely been a change in the rivals' relationship, and he was sure he was not the only one who noticed.

"Well, I'm going to bed," Iris suddenly announced, standing up.

"Iris, it's not even 9 p.m. yet," Cilan pointed out.

"I know. I just..."

May tilted her head.

"Are you all right?" she asked. "You've seemed a little off tonight."

"I'm fine," Iris insisted. "It's just... been a long, physically and emotionally draining day. We were up at 4 a.m. this morning, and we've been going ever since. I think after two months, I just need to breathe."

"Now that you mention it, I am a little tired, too," Trip admitted.

"Perhaps we should take this as our cue to leave and get some rest, then," Cilan suggested. "Tomorrow will be a new day."

Several goodbyes and a few other part gestures were exchanged—May outstretched her arms to Iris, and the two shared a brief embrace—and soon, May and Drew were alone. Neither seemed to be in any hurry to leave each other, though. Drew adjusted himself on the chair on which he was seated, while May played with her hair, brushing a few loose strands out of her face with her fingers.

"So..." she began shyly. "What was that with Trip?"

"What do you mean?"

"You were ready to tell him and Iris and Cilan about you and your father," May explained. "It's not bad by any means. It's just interesting, since I couldn't get you to say a thing about it for months."

"I suppose when you tell one person, it becomes easier after that," Drew replied plainly. "I don't know. I guess telling you made me realize how stupid it was hiding it."

"It wasn't stupid to hide it," May said. "You weren't ready to say anything, and that's not stupid."

"It was, though," Drew insisted. "Over time, I became less concerned with Giovanni finding me and more about how people would perceive me if they knew—but that's just irrational if you're around people you trust. Like you, and everyone else here, too. I've never really had friends before, and I do now." He paused before adding, "And that's kind of cool."

May beamed at him, and Drew became flustered saying such things. It was unlike him, unlike the image he had painted of himself. His mouth tended to run a little bit around May, though. He needed to stop letting that happen before he said something far more embarrassing.

"Anyway," Drew quickly changed the subject, "how's your lip doing?"

May blinked and subconsciously touched her mouth. The swelling had gone down with the compress, but the area was still sensitive. She hadn't had the chance to look in a mirror yet to check out the damage for herself. She wasn't sure she wanted to, though; seeing a horribly bruised bottom lip wouldn't do anything good for her self-esteem.

"It's all right, I suppose," she answered. "It's good you guys showed up when you did. He probably would have gone further if you hadn't."

Drew felt anger begin to simmer underneath the surface again, but he took a moment to breathe and cool down. It was done. It was over. It wouldn't do him or May any good to get upset over the incident.

"Yeah..." Drew looked away. "I'm just glad you're OK now."

May lowered her head, though her eyes remained stuck on him. The brightness of her blue irises remained untouched even in the dim atmosphere of the room, and it—along with the fact that she was now touching his hand—redrew his attention. His gaze flickered down briefly and then back up.

In retrospect, bringing up May's lips was perhaps not the best idea if Drew's goal was not to let his mouth run.

"Is something wrong?" May asked innocently.

"No," Drew lied, turning his head.

May didn't seem convinced.

"Are you sure?"

Drew let out a long breath. He wasn't frustrated with her—far from it—but his uncertainty as to how he should proceed was frustrating in itself.

"Do you want me to be frank?"

"Sure."

Drew locked eyes with her once more.

"I really want to kiss you right now," he began, and May's breath caught, "but I'm restraining myself because I don't want to hurt you."

May said nothing for a while, because she wasn't sure how to respond. Was he joking? No, Drew's humor was dry, sarcastic. He sounded genuine when he said it, so this was no matter she could simply laugh off before excusing herself for bed. Then what? Was she supposed to continue sitting there staring at him until he finally broke and kissed her anyway, or was she supposed to initiate? If she remained quiet for too long, then he might leave—which she didn't want, because she _definitely_ wanted him to kiss her.

"Well, don't."

Her invitation was all he needed. His hand reached out, tilted her chin up, cupped her cheek, and brought her closer to him so he could very gently press his lips to hers. Despite his tender considerations, the light pressure against her bottom lip still stung—but May hardly minded, and she, feeling brave, touched the end of his jaw and deepened the kiss.

She inhaled sharply when he pulled away, feeling mild pain begin to pulsate beneath her bruised lip.

"Sorry," he said, sensing her discomfort.

"Please don't apologize," she breathed before pulling him in for another kiss.

* * *

Ash was half-asleep when he heard a knock on his bedroom door. Pikachu, who actually was sleeping, perked up and looked at the door and then back at his trainer. Ash was too tired to remember he didn't want to see anyone, so he called for his visitor to enter.

The raven-haired boy felt more awake when he realized it was Silver's silhouette standing in the doorway.

"Silver?" Ash scrambled to sit up. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to say goodbye," Silver answered shortly, and Ash's face fell.

"Oh..."

There was a brief flicker of sympathy, perhaps regret, in Silver's eyes, but his hard expression remained unchanged.

"You should know," he began, "I normally don't do this. Say goodbye, I mean. I usually just leave and let people notice I'm gone later."

"Well, you _can_ just leave," Ash replied quietly. "I understand. You came for our father and not for any other reason. Since we're not doing that anymore, it makes sense that you wouldn't stick around. You don't have to try to make me feel better by saying goodbye. I know you've never seen me as your brother and that you probably never will. It's OK."

Silver's lips tightened.

"Of all the people here," he started, "you're the only one who will really miss me. It would stick with me if I didn't formally end it. I made that mistake once, and I won't do it again."

Ash slowly raised his head in a nod. He wasn't so sure about that—being the _only_ one would miss him—but he didn't bring it up.

"Thanks, I guess."

Silver was silent for a long moment.

"It was nice meeting you, Ash," he said. "Maybe we'll meet again someday."

The red-haired male then turned back toward the door, and Ash laid down, facing away from him. Pikachu crawled up next to him, licking his face. Ash just wanted to go to sleep; to forget for several hours, to drown out his problems in his dreams. At the last moment, however, Silver's hands caught on the frame of the door, and he spoke again.

"Do you want to know why I don't see you as my brother?" he asked. "Initially, it was because I didn't think blood mattered, because family is not shared genetics. I still think that. But straight from the get-go, you showed that you cared about me unconditionally, and I didn't get that. Then, today, I suddenly realized you're that way with everyone, and that I had liked it—you caring—but it didn't feel so special anymore."

Ash blinked and sat up again, this time with Pikachu in his arms.

"It's not your fault." Silver's back was still turned toward him. "I know that's the way you've been designed. I guess it just caught me off guard. You caught me off guard, and it almost changed me. Almost."

Ash frowned.

"Did... Did you think I was the Chosen One, too?"

Silver knew he shouldn't have said anything. He ripped open new threads, though, and he had to sew them back up if he wanted to stick to his original intentions.

"Hearing all these stories about you—how you recovered Latios and Latias's Soul Dew, stopped Dialga and Palkia's fight, and protected Victini..." Silver began slowly. "I was curious to see what would happen, how things would unfold. I didn't realize it until recently, but I was ready for you to amaze me. I was thoroughly underwhelmed. That's why I said 'almost.'"

Ash's jaw tightened.

"Yeah, letting people down is kind of my thing now," he said.

"The sad thing is that's your own fault," Silver muttered bitterly.

"I'm just a regular 14-year-old kid, Silver. All those things you just mentioned... sure, they sound fantastic when someone tells you the story, but if you were me, you'd know I just got by on mostly luck and a bunch of adrenaline," Ash retorted. "There's nothing special about me. I like video games, Pokémon, and I don't remember to change my underwear every day, no matter how many times my mother reminds me that I should."

Something clicked, and Silver narrowed his gaze.

"You know," he said, facing Ash again. "I don't agree with everything Misty said. There will be some who do, and some who don't—and it's clear you're one of the ones who don't. But there is something to be gained from her speech; a different perspective that you won't even acknowledge."

Ash appeared bemused, but he said nothing.

"You're not a regular 14-year-old kid, Ash," Silver said. "People are naturally drawn to you, and why shouldn't they be? You're good-hearted through and through. You treat those around you with respect and love, even if they don't deserve it. You give second and third and fourth chances to everyone except yourself. You would do anything—risk everything—for the benefit of people you care about."

Now Ash was surprised that Silver was offering such high commendation, when he usually acted like he wanted nothing to do with him.

"When you say you're not the Chosen One, what you're really saying is that you're not some holy figure picked by an enigmatic god for the sake of accomplishing great things," Silver continued. "And you're right. There is nothing divine about you. But, genuine kindness and mercy are rare qualities to find, and you have them. Those qualities have attracted a group of people with stories and backgrounds that run as deep as yours, but you remain at the center, tying everyone and everything together. You're not the Chosen One because some prophecy chose you. You're the Chosen One because your friends chose you, and they are waiting for you to take the lead."

Ash set Pikachu onto the bed before rising to his feet.

"How?" he asked, seemingly shaken.

"The same way Leaf got us this far," Silver shrugged. "Trust yourself and rely on the people around you. It's all in or all out, kid."

With those final words, he left, shutting the door behind him and leaving Ash in darkness.

* * *

Leaf's world was hazy stirred for the first time in several hours; a thin, misty film had spread across her eyes, and she couldn't make out where she was or remember what had happened. Her head rolled to the left and she noticed that Gary was at her bedside, though he'd dozed off.

Then, she felt the sharp pain in her gut, and she gasped in a breath of reality that cleared her head and vision.

"Ash!" she yelped, and Gary nearly fell out of his chair, surprised by the sudden awakening. "Why is he alone? Where is everyone else?"

She sat up, but the abrupt movement sent another powerful ripple of pain through her lower abdomen, and she bit on her fist to prevent herself from screaming.

"Leaf!" Gary exclaimed once he regained his senses. "You're finally awake. Ash is fine. We-"

Leaf was not paying attention. Her attention was now focused on the awful throbbing in her core, and she lifted her shirt to see what was ailing her. When she saw the pink scar, she sucked in a shaky breath.

"Wha-what?" she stammered. "What happened? How long have I been out? Arceus, I-"

"-Leaf." Gary grasped her shoulders, trying to ease her. "Just calm down."

"Gary, how many weeks has it been?" she asked anxiously. "How long has it been since we were at the Sinnoh base?"

"It hasn't even been a day yet."

"Then how do I have this giant scar on my stomach?"

"A man named Nando and his Sunflora helped seal it up," Gary answered. "Do you remember anything? It's OK if you don't. Nurse Joy said you showed some signs of a concussion, and that can accompanied by amnesia. I already have a lot to fill you in on; I just need to know where to start."

Leaf stopped to focus on her breathing, bringing it to a normal pace rather than ragged, panicked gasps. Gary waited patiently, allowing her the time to process her memories.

"I remember..." Leaf closed her eyes. "Domino. I fought Domino. Oh Mew, is Ivysaur OK?"

"Yes." Gary nodded. "Conway cared for her, and Nurse Joy finished the job. He's back in his Pokéball."

"Nurse Joy? Where are we?"

"We're in a Pokémon Center at Lake Acuity."

"What time is it?" Leaf was trying to reorient herself.

"Um..." Gary checked his watch. "It's a little bit past 9:30 p.m."

"OK. OK..." Leaf closed her eyes again. "The Ampharos Train... I remember that. Was there a Nidoran anywhere?"

"No." Gary appeared confused.

"Oh. Well, was Lance here? Did you talk to him?"

"No," Gary repeated.

"I guess I must have dreamed all that, then." Leaf swallowed, now trying to sort out a timeline—what was the past and present. "You were there, though. Did you get my apology?"

"Your... your apology?"

"Yes. I thought I apologized to you."

Gary furrowed his eyebrows, thinking. Now that she had mentioned it, he could recall Leaf mumbling a couple despairing 'sorrys' to him in her deluded state on the train.

"You did," he said with a nod. "I'm not sure what you were apologizing for, though."

"For the awful way I treated you on the day of my mother's funeral," she elaborated. "I didn't mean it. I don't actually hate you."

Gary's confusion turned to bafflement.

"This is a really weird time to be bringing that up, Leaf. That was more than _five years_ ago," he said. "I'm serious when I say I have a lot of things to tell you. Important things."

"Just entertain me for a little while, will you?" Leaf said, exasperated. "You know it was the reason we were never friends again. You, Ash, and I all just... drifted apart after that."

Gary sighed and rubbed a forming headache away.

"Leaf," he began calmly, "the fight we had during your mother's funeral is not the _sole_ reason the three of us stopped hanging out together. The drifting apart began long before then, when we were too young to understand it was even happening. You and I had never really gotten along, especially after my parents died. We were terrible to each other, and we were both terrible to Ash. Ash was just so... naïve, though, that he didn't see it, but he tried so hard to keep us from falling apart. The funeral was just the last straw for us. After that, nothing Ash could do would salvage our friendship."

Leaf frowned, and her gaze fell.

"Don't get that depressed look," Gary half-grumbled. "We would've straightened it out long ago—I mean, Ash and I eventually made amends—but you practically vanished after you left Pallet Town. I ran into you maybe once or twice, and I never saw you again. You never entered the Indigo League."

"And you didn't even care that I didn't, did you?" Leaf muttered. Gary leaned back slightly but said nothing. "You didn't care that I was gone. You didn't worry about where I was or even question it. No one did. We wouldn't have made up back then."

"Well, we're making up now, aren't we?" Gary persisted. Leaf's lips tightened, and she looked up at him again. "The past is over and done with. We can only worry about now. Regarding you and I... I had never been so scared as I was today. It's true that up until this mess with Giovanni and Mewtwo, we hadn't seen each other in years. But now that you're back in my life, I realize I don't ever want you out of it again."

Leaf wasn't sure what to make of that line. She looked down and brushed her fingers through her messy brown hair. She realized he'd watched over while she slept in that room, and now she was beginning to remember his presence with her on the train in more detail—and the implications of it all made her nervous.

"Anyway," Leaf began, deciding she didn't want to push the topic any further, "you can tell me about all these 'important things' now."

"Do you want the skinny?"

"Sure," Leaf mumbled halfheartedly.

"All right." Gary straightened up. "Well, we didn't get Mewtwo and Moltres. Turns out Giovanni is actually at a base in Unova that Silver previously wasn't aware existed. Ash accidentally revealed to Proton that we're alive. Giovanni now has plans to capture Kyurem. Ash had a huge meltdown and told everyone he doesn't think he's the Chosen One, and you and I apparently missed a rather riveting speech by Misty explaining why she still thinks he is. Oh, and Trip never snagged a spot on Giovanni's kill list."

Leaf stared, though her eyelids fell. Gary sighed. It certainly was not the news she wanted to hear; there was a lot it, and it was all bad.

"OK, I'm going to need the thicker version of that," she said after a moment. "But first..."

"First?"

"I'm hungry." Leaf threw the covers off her. "We're in a Pokémon Center, right? Then there should be a cafeteria somewhere, and I will be mad if there isn't food. I kind of want to eat my feelings right now."

Gary let out a chuckle. It wasn't that funny—especially when he considered that she was trying to hide her disappointment with humor—but he couldn't help it.

"I'm sure there's some leftovers from dinner," he told her, and she nodded before attempting to get out of bed. His eyes widened, and he added, "Leaf, maybe you shouldn't-"

She let out a pained, shaky breath, and she would have collapsed had Gary not swept in and grabbed her. Her arms hung limply over his shoulders as he adjusted himself, pulled his chair closer, and sat down again while still holding her up.

"You had your abdominal muscles slashed through," he said, his hand gently weaving itself through the hair on the back of her head. "You're not going to have a fun time getting up and moving around for a while."

"I noticed," she mumbled into his shirt.

"Would you like me to carry you?"

"That will not be necessary." Leaf pushed herself off his chest.

"Are you sure? I can, you know."

"I'll be fine, Gary." She tried to stand again but was unsuccessful. She then slung a single arm around his shoulder. "... OK, you can help me get down the stairs."

He chuckled—and this time, it really was funny—as he wrapped an arm around her waist and helped her up.

_**March 4th, 2002. Late Evening. Near Opelucid City.**_

"Arceus, it's cold..."

"Quit your complaining; it ain't that bad. Man up."

As the group of twenty or so Rocket agents ventured deeper into the dark cave, the temperature continued to steadily drop. The crunchy snow beneath their feet gradually transformed into a glassy ice that warranted greater caution—already, an agent had slipped and required some medical attention, which was difficult to give in the weak light of a Lampent.

"Did you hear that?" an agent asked anxiously.

"You're just imagining things," his co-worker replied.

Imagination, however, couldn't bare its jagged teeth and emit a series of low growls that reverberated off the walls. The pack stopped, terrified, as a pair ominously yellow eyes opened, and the beast's icy breath dried their throats and eyes.

An avianous screech from behind broke the Rocket agents' out of their frightened stupor, and Moltres soared above their heads and toward the beast. The fire on the Legendary Bird's wings illuminated the area and revealed the target: Kyurem, who snarled upon the arrival of his opponent. He immediately swiped at the Flame Pokémon with Slash, but Moltres dodged and unleashed a Fire Blast—an immediate direct hit.

The force of Moltres's flames forced Kyurem into the ground, but he remained determined. However, just as he was about to retaliate with Ice Beam, an unknown force suddenly restrained him. He was lifted into the air in a pinkish glow and slammed back into the ice and rocks more forcefully. It was then that Mewtwo, in full armour, appeared and attached his Master's device to Kyurem's neck.

_**March 4th, 2002. Late Evening. Lake Acuity.**_

Iris's despairing, terrified screams woke the entire floor, and Cilan was first to fall out of his own bed, stumble outside of his room, and hurry into hers. He found her in a cold sweat and thrashing in her sleep. Axew was at her side, trying to wake her up, but failing.

"Iris! Iris!" Cilan cried, managing to shake her awake. When her eyes flew open, he asked, "What's the matter?"

She began crying, and she threw herself into him.

"_Mainnē usē dēkhā. Maiṁ Kyurem dēkhā,_" she sobbed into his chest.

"What about Kyurem?" Cilan picked up on the one word he could understand.

"_Mainnē usē dēkhā_," Iris repeated. She seemed mildly disoriented in her frantic state. "_Vē Kyurem kabjā kara liyā hai_."

Before Cilan could gently remind her that he didn't understand Hindi, other trainers began pouring into the room.

"Iris, what happened?" Dawn inquired in a hurried, concerned tone as she sat on the bed's edge and tenderly touched the Dragon-type trainer's shoulder. She said nothing in response, but instead turned and latched onto the coordinator, burying her face in the blunette's shoulder. Dawn appeared confused, but wrapped her arms around her terrified friend. She then looked toward Cilan, but he merely shook his head with a frown, unable to offer an explanation.

* * *

Silver's head jerked up when he heard Iris's screams echo through the hallway and down the stairs. He was on his way out, but her cries stopped him, and he stood motionless for a long moment, unsure of what to do or how to react. His initial instinct was to run back upstairs and check out what had happened, but he had to remind himself that he was trying to _break off_ from the group. Continually concerning himself with their problems was not helping him do that.

As he weighed his options, Leaf and Gary stumbled out of the kitchen. The moment he saw them—or rather, the moment they saw him—Silver cursed himself.

"What was that? _Who_ was that?" Leaf's arms were crossed over her belly with her hands clutching her waist, and her breath was heavy with discomfort.

"Iris," Silver muttered begrudgingly.

The agent exchanged a tentative glance with Gary, and she staggered forward, attempting to head up the stairs herself. She sank to her knees in pain by the third step, though her hand still firmly grasped the wooden rail.

"Here, let me just..." Gary offered a hand, but she waved him off.

"No, no," she insisted. "I can do it."

She dragged herself up a fourth step and gave up after that.

"OK, you can carry me now," she mumbled, defeated.

Gary smirked and lifted her up from beneath her legs. Silver watched the two ascend the stairs before turning back toward the Pokémon Center's main entrance. He could hear the rumble of a plane outside. Nurse Joy seemed to hear it, as well, as she entered the room. Her hair was down, and she was wrapped in a pink shawl, obviously just having been awoken. Yet, she appeared conflicted, overwhelmed; she had a girl screaming upstairs and another arriving outside.

"Winona's here, isn't she?" Silver asked.

Nurse Joy looked at him with wide eyes.

"How did you-"

"-Don't worry about it," Silver muttered bitterly. "You take care of your guest. We'll take care of ourselves. We've done it for two months now."

He went back up the stairs.

* * *

"Kyurem has been captured."

Gary and Leaf made it into Iris's room just in time to hear this declaration. It had taken a couple minutes for the Dragon-type trainer to regain her senses and convert back to English, but she still seemed shaken. Axew was in her arms, acting as a source of comfort, and she remained wedged between Dawn and Cilan.

"How do you know?" Leaf asked from the back of the crowd. Everyone turned, shocked to see that she was standing—much less awake.

"Leaf!" May exclaimed, relieved. "How are you doing?"

"Never mind that," Leaf dismissed. "Iris, how do you know?"

Iris swallowed and took another moment to collect herself.

"I... I saw it," she breathed. "I saw it happen. I saw Mewtwo and Moltres and the Team Rocket agents, and I heard the song. The terrible, twisted version of Meloetta's song. I remember hearing it and then feeling so... empty. And scared."

"A young trainer sees through the eyes of a troubled, god-like Pokémon while they sleep," Silver said casually as he strolled into the room. "Now where have I heard that story before? Don't tell me you're all going to begin hailing her as your new Chosen One."

Ash stared and let out a surprised breath upon Silver's return; even Pikachu seemed mildly surprised. Both believed the trainer had left long ago. Silver's eyes briefly connected with Ash's before he looked back at Iris.

"It is pretty similar," Drew remarked.

"Ash had a connection with Mewtwo," Iris mumbled in response. "Is it so hard to believe that I have a connection with Kyurem?"

"Do you?" May asked.

"In a sense, I suppose, yes," she answered vaguely. "I don't understand it myself."

"Yet another thing that probably should have been shared with the team long ago," Paul commented dryly. "This really is a good case of déjà vu."

"Everyone has things they prefer to keep to themselves," Dawn said quietly. "I would've expected you'd know that, Paul."

It was a dangerous line for the female Twinleaf coordinator to cross, but her point was made, and it resonated with more than one person. Drew hardly blinked, but May's hand discreetly reached for his, and their fingers entwined. He then looked down and smiled at her; they, of course, had already had this discussion. Trip shifted slightly from where he was standing and sighed. Gary and Leaf couldn't look at each other. Ash's gaze fell, and Silver pressed a hand to his face. Zoey was watching Barry, who was watching Paul, who was looking at Dawn with the strangest mix of disdain and respect.

"Well," Kenny broke the awkward tension, tearing his gaze away from the Veilstone trainer and his childhood playmate, "I guess the big question is now what do we do?"

Ash knew that question was indirectly addressed to him; he could feel from the way Misty was looking at him. He closed his eyes and sucked in his breath.

"... We go to Unova," he said, and a few happy, surprised breaths followed. Paul's bottom lip twitched into a smirk, and Misty was positively beaming; she exchanged glances with both him and Kenny.

"I don't know if any of you still think I'm the Chosen One," Ash continued slowly, "and maybe it doesn't matter one way or another. But for you guys who still believe, I want to take back my last sorry and give you a new one—I'm sorry that I have been a terrible Chosen One so far. I really, really am. But it's gonna be different this time. I'm ready now, and I'm sorry that I wasn't before. It's gotta be all in or all out, though, right?"

He reached over his shoulder and patted Pikachu on the shoulder. Leaf straightened up, allowing herself to smile, too. Suddenly, the pain in her gut didn't feel so terrible.

"I'm glad you're ready, Ash, because I sure am," she said. "I hope everyone else feels the same?"

Her question was met with a clear, perhaps even cheered affirmation from everyone—verbal or otherwise—until Conway spoke.

"How do you plan to get to Unova?" Dawn recognized the change in his language—the 'we' to a 'you'—and she knew she didn't need to ask him to clarify. He had discounted himself.

It was quite the conundrum; luckily, it was one they didn't have to dwell on for too long. A polite knock on the door frame drew in the attention of all seventeen trainers, though they (except one) expected to see either Nurse Joy or Nando. Winona's presence, therefore, came as a surprise.

"Winona!" Ash immediately recognized her.

"What are you doing here?" May asked.

"Hello Ash; May," Winona regarded, knowing both of the trainers. "I'm sorry to break up this meeting, but I am here under orders from the G-Men. I've been instructed to take you to safety."

"To safety?" Ritchie inquired. "Where?"

"Dragon's Den in Johto. Clair, the Blackthorn City Gym Leader, will take care of you from that point."

"Of course," Zoey sighed, exasperated.

"Well, while we're thankful you came all the way out here, there's been a change in plans," Gary said frankly, and Winona cocked an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?" she asked. Silver moved away from the door and reached into his bag, pulling out one of his Pokéballs.

"You see, I was the one who told Candice to call Lance," Gary elaborated, "and I did so in a very scary moment in which I thought one of my best friends was at risk of losing her life. As you can see, though, she is standing right here next to me." He gestured to Leaf, and she raised her eyebrows. "It was a poor decision. Lance's services are no longer needed."

Winona sputtered incoherently for a moment, utterly baffled. She had never heard such a brazen response to the G-Men authority.

"Y-You can't just-" she began, but she was quickly cut off.

"Your services, however, _are_ needed." Silver had inconspicuously let out his Alakazam, who in turn used Hypnosis, and Winona jolted upward before her eyes turned dull. Leaf sent him a rather appalled look. Others seemed similarly shocked, unsure of what to make of the sudden move.

"You will take us to Unova," Silver finished firmly.

_**March 4th, 2002. Late Evening. Unova Team Rocket Base.**_

"_Kyurem has been captured, sir_," Pierce told Giovanni over the line. The Team Rocket leader's lips curved into a smirk upon hearing such news.

"Excellent," he said. "Was there any damage done that I should be aware of? Any dead agents? Mewtwo and Moltres are OK, of course, right?"

"_No one died, sir,_" Pierce answered. "_An agent was mildly injured, but nothing more. The mission was over fairly quickly once we reached Kyurem. Moltres and Mewtwo are both fine. I have several men assigned to watch over them._"

"I trust you'll keep it that way until I arrive."

"_You're coming, sir?_"

"We simply don't have the facilities here to house Kyurem. I will be going there myself in the morning. We will have to set our plan of attack into motion then."

"_Are we going to the Indigo Plateau, sir?_"

"There's no need for that." Giovanni's Persian meandered into the office and rubbed up against his Master's leg. He reached down to pat the Normal-type on the head. "They'll come here."

"_How can you be sure, sir_?"

"I imagine either Domino and Petrel will let something slip; it's no big matter. I have amended our plans for that, and when Lance comes, he'll be our target."

* * *

"James? Meowth? Are you awake still?"

The trio was, much to their relief, passed over for the mission to capture Kyurem, and they now lied in their beds, waiting for morning and the news whether Team Rocket had successfully acquired the Dragon-type Legendary, or whether twenty agents had frozen to death. Jessie wasn't sure whether the Village of Dragon's Elder's warnings were true or not, but she certainly did not want to take any risks. Freezing to death would be an ironic way to go out, considering her mother's story.

"Yeah, I'm still awake, Jess," James yawned from the opposite bed.

"Same here," Meowth added. He was curled up at the bottom of Jessie's feet, and he stretched his claws out. "What's da matta? Is sumtin' bothering you?"

"I suppose I've been thinking..."

"I thought you always said thinking was dangerous."

"Only when it's you two doing it," Jessie scoffed. She paused for a long moment, before solemnly continuing, "I've been thinking about why I joined Team Rocket. Why we all joined Team Rocket. For me, after my mom died, I swore never to join... then I just kept bouncing from job to job, trying to find purpose, trying to find a place in the world."

James propped himself up on his elbow, looking at his partner. It was very, _very_ rare she ever grew this pensive or melancholic; it was rarer she ever expressed it to anyone. All this meant he knew he had to listen.

"I finally decided I had no choice and joined Team Rocket," she continued. "James, you couldn't stand your family so much that you ran away and cut yourself off from your inheritance, meaning you needed a job—and being the spoiled brat you were-"

"-Hey!"

"-You didn't know how to do anything, so you joined Team Rocket. Meowth, you joined after you were rejected by your love and treated like an outcast by your own kind."

"What's da point of bringin' up all these bad memories?" Meowth asked, sounding a bit depressed.

"It's just... we all joined with the promise of wealth, of happiness, of home," Jessie mused. "Seven years later, we're still poor. We're not exactly happy. And the only home I've found is among you guys, but that's you—not Team Rocket. We run into any other Team Rocket agents, and they treat us like dirt. We follow the Boss's every order, almost without question, and nothing's changed in seven years. I don't know. Maybe I'm just talking crazy. What do you guys think?

"Jessie, I tink it's too late to be havin' this kind of emotional crisis," Meowth grumbled.

"No, I understand," James interjected. "I've been thinking, too. Not so much about that, but I guess my brain's got some more food to much on for a while."

"What have you been thinking about, then?" Jessie asked.

"The twerp. Er, Ash," James replied. "He's _alive_. They're _all_ alive. It just makes me think back to that day, when Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno were attacking each other."

"The day we played the good guys?"

"Yeah."

"I tought we also agreed not ta talk 'bout dat day, eider," Meowth commented.

"But why not?" James pressed. "We were happy to do it. Jessie has a point. Nothing we've done for the Boss for the past few years has made us happy. Following the twerp around... recording Meloetta's song... finding out about Kyurem... none of it's made us happy. It's just made us sad or tired or scared. With Ash alive, don't you wonder... ?"

"Wonder what?" Jessie prompted.

"If we're on the wrong side?"

_**March 4th, 2002. Late Evening. Nuvema Town.**_

Emily was getting along well—at least, as well as she could in her circumstances.

Rather than spending her time recovering from the awful shock that her only son, the light of her existence, was dead, she returned to wasting her days worrying about him and his travels, as she had when he first set off for Professor Juniper's lab and began his journey.

She had not said a word to anyone about Trip being alive. She had no one to speak to anyway, aside from her husband. She mostly spent her days absently washing the dishes over and over and over again until her thin, bony fingers pruned from the soapy water. She watched the news during this time; her husband usually wouldn't let her turn on the television when he was home. The noises gave him a headache.

Even now, she was watching the 10 p.m. news, which was reviewing information media relations for the G-Men had released regarding the apparent fall of a second Team Rocket base—this one in Sinnoh. Emily knew it was late, and she wished she could be in bed, but she had always made a point to welcome Jack home since their marriage—even if he came home past midnight.

Suddenly, she heard her husband's car rumble into the driveway, and she scrambled out of the kitchen to turn off the television. She then went to wait in front of the door, pushing her messy hair behind her ears and smoothing down her apron.

The door flung open, and her husband stalked inside.

"Welcome home, sweetheart," she said with a quick smile. "You're home earlier than usual. Didn't you go out with the guys tonight?"

"Yeah," Jack mumbled in response, brushing past her and heading into the kitchen. "We had to cut it short, though. Dan's making the drive up to Humilau City tomorrow, and he needed to get to bed at a decent hour. His son just earned his eighth badge, and they're going to celebrate."

He reached into the cabinet and pulled out a bottle of vodka. He didn't bother to mix himself a drink, as he usually did. Instead, he poured it into a shot glass before downing it. Emily frowned, fussing with the edge of her skirt. Jack was particularly sensitive to the topic of children now, and these conversations always turned sour in the worst of ways.

"I-I'm sorry," Emily apologized. "I know that must have been hard to hear about. It's hard for me to hear about."

Jack nodded sadly.

"Our son..." He trailed off. "A brilliant young man. He would've had his eighth badge by now, too. He would've been preparing to enter the Unova league now. He would've become Champion. He would've..."

Jack gripped the edge of his glass tightly before throwing it toward his wife. She yelped and jumped out of the way. The glass shattered, and the alcohol splattered against the wall.

"He would've been alive if it weren't for _you_!" he screamed, heading toward her. Emily fell back, and she began breathing in panicked gasps.

"I-I-I know, I was just trying to protect him, Jack!" she defended. "I thought he was in danger, and you with your outdated, xenophobic notions of other regions-"

"-_What did you say_?"

She hit the ground when he slapped her. She had learned by then that the faster she went down, the quicker these beatings ended.

"Everything I do is to protect him!" she sobbed after he kicked her in the gut. "Everything... I... do..."

"You haven't protected anything!" he screeched back. She tried to escape, but he grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back. "You can't even protect _yourself_."

It was a trigger; after so many months of silence, she remembered that she _did_ have the ability to protect herself. With a few words, she could give herself control again. And for a woman who had control over nothing more than the cleanliness of her dishware, that notion became very appealing, almost romantic, as her head began to bleed.

"Trip is alive!" she screamed. "_Trip is alive_!"

_**March 4th, 2002. Late Evening. Lake Acuity.**_

"I _told_ you," Misty celebrated as she ambled down the stairs alongside Paul. "I _told_ you Ash would change his mind."

Both were carrying their bags. After Silver's uncomfortable stint with Winona (most of the trainers were trying not to think too much about it), they had dispersed to quickly pack their things and get going. They had important places to be; important things to do. Winona had returned outside to start up her plane again. Silver had followed with Alakazam, trying to prevent Nurse Joy from finding out what he'd done to her. So far, she seemed oblivious and had even offered Leaf some pain medication for the trip.

"You did," Paul conceded.

"Yup, yup," Barry jumped between the two with a grin. "Out of all of us, you've always been the one to know him best, Mist'!"

"Now it's a matter of whether he delivers or not," Trip commented. He was waiting at the bottom of the stairs with his own bag.

"He will," Misty assured him with confidence.

"Yeah, you know you're one of the people who made this all possible, Trip!" Dawn called from the sofa.

"Please don't give me that much credit."

Ash was the last to enter the room with Pikachu on one shoulder and his backpack slung over the other.

"Is everyone here?" he asked. He seemed a bit anxious, but also excited. Adrenaline was in his blood again. "Are we ready to go?"

"Yup," Leaf answered before downing several pills with a wash of water.

"Then we're off," he said, and he immediately headed toward the center's entrance. Iris slowly rose to her feet to follow. She had come a long way since she first woke up, but she'd remained quiet for a while. She didn't seem nearly as excited as everyone else.

"Wait there."

Everyone froze. Nando had entered the scene.

Zoey inhaled deeply.

"It's OK," she told everyone. "You go ahead and get settled on the plane. I'll catch up with you in a few minutes."

Her peers thus continued on their way, though at a quicker pace. Zoey slowly turned toward the minstrel, who calmly strode toward her. They waited for a moment in silence until everyone had left and they were alone.

"I will not lie for you," Nando said simply. "When the G-Men come, when they ask questions, I will answer them truthfully. I will tell them what you have done and where you are going."

"I know that," Zoey said. "No one's asking you to lie. How did you know?"

"Your friend's screams also awoke me," he answered, "and I overheard your meeting from my room, since it happened to be the one next to hers. I did not seek to join you, because I felt that you all had a deep connection with each other that I should not intrude upon. It was a very personal conversation for all of you. You really do have a remarkable story. I'm sure there will be many who will want to read it."

Zoey appeared uncertain regarding the purpose of his tangent.

"It is for these reasons I will not stop you," Nando finished, and Zoey's eyes widened.

"I..." She shook her head. "Thank you, Nando."

He nodded and took a step away from her.

"Best wishes on your journey to Unova."

.

.


	27. XXIV: In Which Cress and Chili Join In

.

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Chapter XXIV: In Which Cress and Chili Join In

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**_April 28th, 1999. Morning. New Bark Town._**

"So this is the famous Elm Pokémon Lab..."

Kamon stood on the tips of his toes, peering through a small window on the side of the large, brown-brick building. He'd heard a lot about the lab since he, Petrel, and Domino had arrived yesterday evening; it was apparently the gem of the small Johto town.

The 11-year-old hadn't been interested in coming with the two Rocket agents to Johto, but his father forced him to go under the cheap excuse that he could potentially pick up some valuable skills by watching Domino and Petrel work. This certainly wasn't the first time this had happened, and it wouldn't be the last. Whenever his father tired of him (which was often), he usually pawned the boy off on a couple of his agents for several days. Domino and Petrel had become the go-to, however, and both were just as unhappy about it as Kamon was. It was free babysitting and nothing more. Yet, its occurrence had become so commonplace that neither side openly complained about it.

At least, since they were together so often, Domino and Petrel had loosened the reins on Kamon. They used to keep a tight watch over him—after all, there would be hell to pay if something happened to their boss's son—but doing so was exhausting and usually distracted them from their mission, so they eventually just began leaving him in the hotel room or local Pokémon Center while they worked.

Kamon didn't mind this set-up. The two agents were usually gone for several hours to accomplish the set tasks for their mission, which was time Kamon spent milling around town or the nearby traveling routes. Today, after Domino and Petrel left, he decided to check out the local lab.

Kamon's interest became especially piqued when a girl, probably around his age, showed up to talk to whom Kamon could only assume was Professor Elm. The man was an absolute mess: unkempt clothes, thinning hair, papers spilling from his notebook... yet, there was an undeniable glimmer of passion in his eyes, and Kamon could see that same passion in his gestures as he spoke to the young brunette. Although he couldn't hear any of the conversation, the excitement was obvious.

Then Elm scuttled over to a table and pressed a button, revealing three different Pokéballs. The girl looked on in awe, and the professor said something else before stepping back and letting her look over each ball. It was then that Kamon realized the girl was a new trainer and that she was receiving her first Pokémon.

Kamon frowned before leaning his elbow on the sill of the window and propping his head up on his fist. He didn't have a Pokémon, despite having reached the age of trainer eligibility more than a year ago. It wasn't that he didn't want one or that he couldn't get one—if Kamon inquired about it, his father would probably assign an agent or two to catch or steal a new Pokémon for his son—but therein lied the problem; Kamon _didn't_ want to bring it up with his father.

Finally, the girl made her choice. She picked up the Pokéball and released her new partner: A Chikorita.

Kamon scoffed. A grass-type. It was, in his opinion, one of the weakest types, just a notch above Bug-types. Still, seeing the girl affectionately hug the Leaf Pokémon sparked a deep sense of jealousy in him. He glanced back at the table. There were still two Pokéballs left.

He hadn't intended to stir up trouble. Yet, as he watched the girl to happily wave off the professor and leave, impulsion took over and he picked up a large stone and broke the window.

* * *

A part of him knew he shouldn't have done it; the other part didn't care.

Totodile squirmed in his arms as he carried him through Route 29, toward Cherrygrove Town. Domino and Petrel, he imagined, would be furious—not because he'd stolen a Pokémon, but rather because he'd disappeared without a note or indication he was leaving. It couldn't be helped, though. He obviously couldn't stay in New Bark Town, since authorities would be looking for him. He would return in the evening, after it was dark and the search had died down.

"Come on Chikorita, let's hurry. The professor said it was an emergency."

Kamon froze, seeing the girl who received her starter Pokémon from earlier approaching. Her Chikorita was bounding behind her, and both seemed to be in a hurry.

"Oh!" The girl seemed surprised when she spotted Kamon, and he inwardly cringed. "I didn't expect to run into anyone on this route."

Totodile, seeing Chikorita, finally managed to finagle himself out of Kamon's arms. Kamon made a grab for him, but the Water-type ran ahead to greet the girl's Pokémon.

"Aww," the girl cooed, bending down next to the two starters. "It looks like they're friends. Did you get this Totodile from Professor Elm?"

"... Yeah."

"I see," she mused. "The professor didn't tell me there was another trainer getting their Pokémon today. I would've stuck around to meet you had I known. We must have just missed each other. My name's Lyra, by the way. What's yours?"

Kamon scoffed and looked away.

"That's none of your business."

Lyra quirked an eyebrow and slowly rose to her feet.

"OK..." She was put-off by his behavior.

Kamon frowned and looked back down at his Totodile, who playfully bit on Chikorita's leaf. The Grass-type laughed, but butted him off. Kamon's expression hardened; that wouldn't do.

"How about a battle?" he asked suddenly.

"Um..." Lyra glanced over his shoulder. "We actually need to get going. Professor Elm called us back to the lab. There's been some kind of emergency. Did you hear about it?"

Kamon shrugged.

"Oh. Well, see you later then," Lyra said, picking her Chikorita up and brushing past the red-haired male.

"... Hmph. What a waste," she heard him mumble after she passed.

She stopped.

"Excuse me?" she asked, looking back at him.

"That's a Pokémon too good for a wimp like you," Kamon unashamedly continued. "Turning down a battle? What kind of trainer are you?"

Lyra huffed, feeling herself heat up with anger. Chikorita also appeared irritated.

"You want a battle?" she asked. "Fine, you'll get a battle. You ready Chikorita?"

"Chika!" The Grass-type nodded and scampered ahead of her trainer, facing Totodile. The Big Jaw Pokémon puffed up its chest, trying to make himself appear more formidable.

"Good." Kamon smirked. "I'll give you the first move."

"All right then! Chikorita, use Tackle!"

"Dodge it, Totodile, then use Leer!"

Chikorita missed Totodile by a breadth of a hair, and the Water-type turned to glare at the Leaf Pokémon. His eyes began glowing red, and Chikorita backed up a few steps, intimidated.

Kamon immediately took advantage of the Grass-type's lowered defenses and ordered Totodile to use a Scratch attack. Totodile did so, knocking the Grass-type down.

"Chikorita, are you all right?" Lyra called after her Pokémon, concerned. "Can you still battle?"

"Chi.. ka..." Chikorita struggled to stand, but she glanced back at her trainer and offered a confident smile, letting her know she wanted to continue.

"Great!" Lyra grinned. "Use Razor Leaf then!"

"_What_?"

The Grass-type attack was all it took to down Totodile; he didn't even have the opportunity to dodge. Kamon stared at his unconscious Pokémon for a while before snapping his head back up and glaring at Lyra. She recoiled under his piercing silvery gaze.

"How did your Chikorita already know Razor Leaf?" he demanded.

"I mean... we've already done some training since we left this morning," Lyra answered. "Don't get too down on yourself. You had a type disadvantage."

"Whatever," Kamon dismissed, scooping Totodile back up into his arms. "I only care about strong Pokémon that win. We're just going to have to work harder."

He then turned and hurried off, and Lyra and Chikorita exchanged confused glances. Then Lyra gasped in surprise before looking wildly behind her.

"I forgot! The professor!"

* * *

Lyra felt sick to her stomach the moment she stepped back into Professor Elm's lab.

The place was swamped with police officers, and everything was in chaos. A plant had been knocked over, spilling dirt onto the blue linoleum floors; several papers and binders were scattered here and there; a window near the back was broken, and the shattered glass had yet to be cleaned up.

"Professor?" Lyra returned her Chikorita before she ventured forward, pressing past the bewildered aides and police officers. "Professor Elm, where are you?"

"Professor Elm is talking to an investigator at the moment." Lyra spun around to see the local Officer Jenny standing behind her. "This scene is closed off to the public. You should leave."

"Professor Elm told me to come here," Lyra informed her.

"Oh..." Jenny's eyes scanned the girl for a moment. "You're Lyra, aren't you? The professor thought you might know something, so we asked him to call you back here to talk to us."

"What happened?"

"A rare Pokémon was stolen," Jenny answered. "Apparently, it was a young male with long, red hair..."

"W-Wait a moment," Lyra stammered. "The boy with the silver eyes? I battled him and his Totodile! He told me he'd gotten from the lab, but I had no idea it had been _stolen_."

"Really?" Jenny appeared surprised. "Did you happen to get his name?"

"Ah... no," Lyra replied, dejected. "I asked him, but he told me it wasn't any of my business."

"I suppose that figures," Jenny sighed. "Silver eyes, though? That's a memorable detail... We can use that, if we decide to ask for the public's assistance in finding him—finding the silver-eyed thief."

**_March 4th, 2002. Late Evening. Lake Acuity._**

The plane was small, but surprisingly nice. The aisles were wide, the seats were comfortable, and it was equipped to accommodate at least twenty passengers. It was a perfect fit for the determined group of trainers.

Silver tenderly opened the curtain separating the cockpit from the cabin to see how his peers were settling in. Zoey had just arrived, and she was reassuring the others that all would be well with Nando. Silver dropped the curtain and turned back toward Winona. Her irises remained dull, though her right hand was firmly grasping the plane's yoke. She was still under Alakazam's spell, and the said Psychic-type occupied the co-pilot's seat.

Suddenly, Silver heard several loud beeping noises. Initially, he thought it was a noise the plane was making; then he realized it was a ringtone. He quickly glanced around before seeing Winona's bag next to her seat. He snatched it up and dug around to find her Pokénav. The caller ID revealed that Clair, the Blackthorn City Gym Leader, was trying to reach the Flying-type specialist.

Silver canceled the call and shut the device off before dropping it back into the bag. He then strolled out the cockpit and into the cabin.

Leaf had chosen a seat in which the row behind her was empty, purely so she could recline her chair all the way back and not-so-patiently wait for her pain medication to begin working.

"Are you sure I can't have one more?" she pleaded with Gary.

"No," he sighed. "800 milligrams is the max amount of Aguavite you can take in one setting. You can have more in eight hours. It hasn't even been 30 minutes since you took them, so just give it some time."

Leaf groaned and sunk into her chair.

"You know, you can stay behind with Conway if you'd like," Ash offered amiably, turning around in his seat and looking at Leaf and Gary over his headrest.

"Ha ha, funny joke," Leaf sassed.

"I'm serious. I don't want you getting hurt worse than you already have been. I could handle it from here."

Paul scoffed from across the aisle and added under his breath, "Now _there's_ a funny joke."

Leaf shot the Veilstone trainer a brief glare before sighing and looking back at her old neighbor.

"I appreciate the sentiment, Ash," she said seriously, "but I will be OK. I want to be here. All in or all out, right?"

Ash broke into a grin and chuckled.

"Right!" he cheerfully agreed.

"Sorry to interrupt," Silver said gruffly as he approached the group, "but I need to know where we're headed."

"Unova," Ash answered simply.

"Thank you for being unhelpful," Silver said dryly. "Specifically. I need to know specifically. Unova is a big region. After Iris's dream and Ash's push to save Kyurem, you all just hopped on the big hype train without any sort of consideration of what we're really doing or where we're going."

"White Forest," Misty, who was sitting next to Ash, spoke up.

"What?" Silver appeared mildly confused.

"White Forest," Misty repeated. "That's where we should be headed. Contrary to what you may think, Silver, some of us actually did pour some consideration into this way before our surprise meeting."

"Why White Forest?" Ash inquired. "Where is White Forest? Is the 'White' part like snow? Is that where Kyurem lives?"

"No," Iris answered quietly from a few rows away. "White Forest is warm and green and beautiful. Kyurem is nowhere near there."

"We don't want to go to White Forest for Kyurem," Kenny jumped in. "We're goin' for Meloetta."

"Wait, did I miss somethin'?" Ash asked, puzzled. "Meloetta isn't in trouble, is she?"

"No, but we think that perhaps her song could help reverse the control Giovanni has over Mewtwo, Moltres, and now Kyurem," Misty explained. "Nando said it might work."

"I mean," Ash hesitated, "that's good and all, but Kyurem's in trouble now. Team Rocket's got Kyurem. We've gotta go where Kyurem is."

"And do what? Expect you to magically fix it?" Paul asked. "That plan didn't work out too well at the Sinnoh base today, did it?"

Pikachu hopped from Ash's shoulder down to the aisle, apparently taking Paul's side.

"Pikachu Pika," the Electric-type pointed out. Ash sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah, I know what I said this morning, Pikachu..." He trailed off. "Still, if we're not quick, things are gonna get bad real fast. I can feel it in my bones. From the sound of it, Team Rocket could turn the world into a winter wonderland with Kyurem by tomorrow night. By then, it would be too late."

"Surprisingly, I'm going to agree with Ash," Silver said with a nod. "If my father manages to get Kyurem fully under his control, he could quickly overtake the G-Men. It turns into a whole different ballgame at that point."

"The ballgame has changed like a dozen times already; what's another one to us?" Drew asked dryly. He'd left his seat and meandered back several rows to join the conversation.

"I think you're taking this too lightly, Drew," Dawn remarked. "Silver and Ash have a good point."

"You _all_ have good points," Zoey interjected. "We need to get to Kyurem as soon as possible, but we need something to combat the control Team Rocket has over him and Mewtwo and Moltres—and that something is Meloetta. There must be a middle ground, a point where we can compromise."

"What are ya thinkin', Zoe?" Barry asked.

"Well..." Zoey paused to give the question some more consideration. "What if we sent someone else who's near the area to retrieve Meloetta for us? It will take eight or nine hours for us to even reach Unova. That's time someone else could be spending searching for her."

"Yeah..." Ash mused, slowly nodding. "Yeah! That's a great idea! Cilan, get over here for a moment."

The connoisseur, who was seated near the front, appeared mildly confused but stood up and moved back to see what Ash required of him.

"How far away is Striaton City away from White Forest?" the raven-haired boy asked.

"Ah... it's a drive, but I suppose they're not terribly far apart," Cilan answered.

"Great! Then do you think you could call your brothers and ask 'em if they'd be willing to make the trip there to find Meloetta for us?" Ash pressed.

"W-What?" Cilan recoiled in surprise. "Ash, my brothers still think I'm dead."

"So?"

"_So_?" Cilan. "So, can you imagine what it would be like for them to receive a phone call from their late brother in the middle of the night? They would think they've gone crazy!"

"It'll be a happy thing," Ash persisted. "They'll be glad to find out you're alive. Besides, Zoey did it. Candice didn't know she was alive when she showed up on her doorstep."

"You'll have the added benefit of them not being able to slap you," Zoey chimed in.

"It just seems so impersonal..." Cilan glowered at her.

"You can do it," Iris said, approaching the Striaton Gym Leader from behind. "Your brothers will understand. And Ash is right. They will be happy."

Dawn frowned, noticing how subdued the Dragon-type trainer still seemed. Meanwhile, Cilan appeared stressed, but he eventually nodded.

"I... I'll need a phone," he gave in. Silver turned and went back up the aisle and into the cockpit. He soon re-emerged by Winona's PokéNav, and he handed it over to connoisseur. Cilan stared at the device and, suddenly feeling a bit weak, sank into the nearest open chair—which happened to be next to Paul. The mauve-haired trainer turned his head slightly to watch the Grass-type specialist.

Strangely, he could sympathize. He knew if he was in the same situation—if in an alternate universe, Reggie never knew the truth behind his younger brother's 'death' and Paul was charged with calling him, revealing the truth, and asking for a favor—he would struggle to make that call, too (though he probably wouldn't make it as obvious to everyone around him).

"I still need to know where we're headed," Silver asked. "If not White Forest, then where?"

"Opelucid City," Iris answered, and many looked at her in surprise.

"I'm... pretty sure Kyurem doesn't live in the city," Trip commented.

"No, but he lives in the mountains that divide Opelucid City from the Village of Dragons, where I was raised," Iris explained. "Trust me on this. I know from experience."

She returned to her seat. Ash glanced back at Leaf and Gary again, bemused. The researcher shrugged, while the agent's lips tightened.

"Opelucid it is, then," Silver said. "I'll tell Winona; or, actually, I'll let Alakazam do the talking. Fasten your seatbelts. We'll probably be in the air soon." He then looked toward Cilan. "Which means you need to make that call soon. A PokéNav won't work 10,000 feet in the air."

He returned to the cockpit, but Leaf's eyes followed him all the way up until he disappeared behind the curtain. She then leaned back into her reclined chair and sighed. Her medicine was finally beginning to work; the throbbing in her gut was starting to dull.

Meanwhile, Cilan rose again to head further into the back of the plane, where he could find greater privacy. Paul sighed and ran his fingers through his hair before leaning his head against the wall, looking out the window.

**_March 4th, 2002. Late Evening. Striaton City._**

"Make sure you get to sleep at a decent hour," Cress advised, seeing his brother's reflection in the mirror chomp on a donut as he walked by the bathroom. The blue-haired gym leader was in the process of removing his contacts, preparing for bed.

"Hey, don't get on my case! You're awake, too!" Chili protested, stopping in the doorway.

"That's not my point." Cress shook his head. "Eating sugar at this hour? Chili, you know better. We have our grand re-opening tomorrow, and I don't want you sluggishly moving about the kitchen because you were up to 2 a.m. with a sugar rush."

"All right, geez." Chili rolled his eyes. "This'll be my last one, OK?"

"You've had _others_ before it?"

Before Chili had a chance to defend himself, the home phone began going off down the hallway. Chili and Cress exchanged confused glances. Who would call them that late in the night?

"Don't worry yourself," Chili said, recognizing an opportunity to escape further chastisement. "I'll get it."

**_March 5th, 2002. Midnight. Blackthorn City._**

Clair's fingers twitched by her PokéNav, feeling the temptation to call Winona arise again. They had spoken briefly after they received their respective charges from Lance and Wallace. Winona had agreed to check in with the Dragon-type specialist when she arrived at Lake Acuity, then again when she planned to depart with the fifteen trainers (sixteen if the Silver whom Lance had mentioned decided to come along).

Clair had received the arriving call. The departing one was taking longer than she would have expected, however, and she was becoming concerned. Winona had failed to pick up her phone multiple times, too. One call was canceled, another went straight to voicemail, and the last met a busy line. It was strange and unnerving.

She pulled her hand back and rubbed her eyes before picking her book up again. Yet, she couldn't focus on the words. She'd read through several pages, realized she hadn't actually processed the story, and had to flip back.

Her eyes returned to her phone. She tried to convince herself she was being paranoid. While she had never met Winona personally, she knew she was a strong trainer. There was no way the sixteen would be able to overpower her, especially since there were other adults at the center. Besides, what motivation would they have for defying her?

Clair picked up the phone again. She decided if Winona didn't pick up this time, she would call Lance and voice her concerns.

**_March 5th, 2002. After Midnight. Snowpoint City._**

The city was an organized mess. There was no other way to describe it.

The local jailhouse was too small to house the one or two hundred Team Rocket agents who had been arrested, and there were more being hauled down from atop Mt. Coronet and the Ampharos Train Command Center. The city's Officer Jenny had to get involved, and whole extra units of G-Men were called in to help keep the peace. If the Team Rocket members figured out they severely outnumbered the G-Men's present forces, then the Champions risked riots or other forms of rebellion. Yet, perhaps surprisingly, most of the Rocket members remained deferential.

It was nearly 1 a.m., but it felt like day with all the floodlights set up along the streets. The white bulbs' light reflected brightly in the snow, and it was nearly blinding. A long, winding row of Team Rocket members sat on the curb, handcuffed, though blanketed in respect to the freezing temperatures. G-Men agents and local policemen patrolled this line, lest anyone act up.

Families watched the developing police state from their windows or curbs; mothers and fathers pressed their children closer to their sides, husbands and wives and all manners of couples clung to each other. Inter-regional news media outlets had begun pouring into the city hours earlier. None had successfully received a coveted personal statement from any of the Champions, and the gym leaders and Elite Four members, too, remained silent to with repeated utterances of "no comment." As such, the reporters had started to grow fussy and were turning to regular citizens for their perspective on the town takeover.

"Who would have ever thought there would be this many?" Gardenia muttered as she and Roark walked the line. She was dressed in weather-appropriate attire—for once, her midriff was covered—and her hand was settled on the nape of her Grotle's neck. The Grove Pokémon was trudging through the snow alongside his trainer. "And in our own region, too."

"After Hoenn, is it so hard to believe?" Roark asked.

The Eterna City Gym Leader said nothing for a long moment as her eyes passed over the imprisoned. Most hung their heads in shame; some glared at her defiantly. What disturbed her, however, was that the majority of them were adolescents.

"I guess I shouldn't let anything surprise me anymore," she finally admitted.

Roark frowned, though he knew what she meant. Earlier, Cynthia had held a brief, though highly informative discussion with the Sinnoh elite, and she dropped a bomb on them: The fourteen trainers who reportedly died in the tragic Christmas Eve accident in Viridian Forest were actually alive. She then proceeded to explain the urgency of the present Team Rocket situation was hinged on two facts: first, that the fourteen had been at the Sinnoh base earlier that morning; second, that the G-Men had reason to believe the trainers had mistakenly blown their identities, and that Giovanni now knew they were alive, too.

She didn't go into much detail as to why the fourteen were in Sinnoh or how they had even made it there, but the implications were clear: They were _not_ supposed to be there, and the G-Men were now in full damage control mode. Cynthia said it was likely the conspiracy would publicly unravel soon, but that she wanted the elite to be aware, and she wanted them to remain quiet for now. The goal was to delay any leaks to media, thus allowing the G-Men to quickly disassemble the Sinnoh base before turning their attention to their primary problem: Giovanni.

Although the situation was disconcerting—being lied to by government leaders, even if for justifiable reasons, didn't sit well with him and many others—Roark could understand, especially as he looked at the long line of Team Rocket agents. The G-Men were overwhelmed. Adding the media to the list of their growing problems could cause everything to come crashing down. He felt bad for Cynthia, and he somehow wished he could help more.

"I suppose," Roark mused. "I don't think it's good to become complacent, though. If things stop surprising us, then they'll start becoming acceptable."

Gardenia hummed and she glanced behind her, where several reporters stood, speaking in hushed tones over their PokéTablets.

"When do you suppose they'll find out?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Well, not long if you say it so loud and give them reason to suspect something's wrong," Roark replied. The frenzy of the reporters suddenly intensified, and they began ripping out their PokéNavs and Xtranscievers to make some calls.

Roark sighed before adding, "Maybe they already do."

* * *

Domino didn't look up when Lance entered the white-washed, brightly lit interrogation room. Her gaze remained focused on her nails, which were painted with a rich red polish. She was displeased because a part of her ring finger's coat had chipped away, probably as a result of that day's events, and she wasn't able to fix it in handcuffs.

"Water?" Lance held out a bottled water toward the young woman. She stared at him disdainfully. "No? I haven't tampered with it, if that's what you're worried about. I just thought you might want some, considering how much you've been crying. I can tell, because your mascara's a bit messy."

Domino still said nothing. Lance didn't appear disheartened, however. He had expected this; he'd held these types of interviews with Team Rocket members for years. True, he had never managed to snag an executive (two, at that), but he nevertheless trusted he could get her to open up.

"It's perfectly understandable of course," he continued. "Giovanni betrayed you. I'd be upset, too. After all the years you dedicated to Team Rocket, you were tossed aside like an old sock."

"Can you stop?" Domino finally spoke up, exasperated. "I know what you're doing. Trying to manipulate my feelings, trying to make me feel like you're my friend, so you can extract as much information as you need. Well, I don't give anything out for free. Team Rocket members always expect reward."

She predicted he would inform her she wasn't in a position to make such a bold statement, and that he didn't bargain with Team Rocket agents. She was wrong.

"Fine," he conceded amicably. "You may ask me any question, and I'll answer it. In return, I expect you'll answer one of mine."

Domino raised her eyebrows, but she otherwise didn't let her surprise show. He had just handed her an awful lot of power, giving her the first question. She paused to think what she wanted to ask—and there were many possibilities—but she quickly realized there was only question to which she truly wanted an answer.

"Kamon," she began simply. "I want to know about Kamon. How did you find him? How did you get him to join you?"

Lance appeared befuddled.

"Who?"

"Kamon," Domino persisted. "Giovanni's son."

"You mean Silver?" Lance asked.

"Silver? Silver's just a nickname he picked up after a brief stint with authorities in Johto."

"Well, he must now use it as his primary name, because I've never heard 'Kamon' before."

Domino scoffed.

"Little twit," she spat. "Makes sense, I suppose. He knew what we would've done to him if we ever found him, the traitor. Like father, like son, I suppose. Of course, you know all about that."

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do." Domino rolled her eyes.

"I have never met Silver."

"Yes, you have. Don't lie to me," Domino hissed. "He was the one who foiled the evolution induction experiment at the Lake of Rage near Mahogany Town in Johto."

"No... that was myself, Ash Ketchum, Misty Waterflower, and Brock Harrison."

"Ugh. It's complicated."

"We have a lot of time, Domino. I can't answer your question if I don't understand what you're asking. I don't recall anything about this 'Kamon.' Tell me about him. What's his story?"

Domino leaned back and sighed, frustrated.

"After Kamon's mother, Arianna, died—" she began, and Lance had to stop himself from smirking. She had fallen for his bait. "—everything changed. I guess that's to be expected, but it didn't make it any less of a pain. Kamon and Giovanni were not close, and I don't mean the sense that he was too busy for his family because he was running Team Rocket. Kamon was his and Arianna's mistake, and the fact he was Giovanni's son was never 'public information,' though everyone with a brain knew."

"He was not raised as Giovanni's son?" Despite what Domino believed, Lance was sincere in saying he didn't know this story, or anything about Silver—beyond the fact that he had led Leaf and the fourteen trainers to the Sinnoh base.

"Well, that's not exactly true," Domino conceded. "Kamon knew Giovanni was his father, and maybe that would've been the extent of it had Arianna not passed. But she did, and Kamon was pushed onto his father. Obviously, the relationship was strained. They didn't know each other; they didn't get each other. In fact, _no one_ got Kamon."

"Why's that?"

"He was just a problematic kid. He ran away all the time, talked back to his father... He just couldn't seem to get behind the message of Team Rocket."

"'Steal Pokémon for profit. Exploit Pokémon for profit. All Pokémon exist for the glory of Team Rocket,'" Lance recited the mission statement dully. "Hmm. What a mystery. I don't see it, either. How could a child possibly question that motto and not get behind it?"

"That's not what I'm talking about," Domino hissed. "Team Rocket is a refuge. A place for the downtrodden, for the outcasts of society. For those who feel rejected, there is a place for them in Team Rocket."

Lance pressed his lips together, his gaze narrowing.

"You said so yourself that Kamon was a mistake, and that he was practically rejected by his father as his son up until his mother passed. He was made out to be an outcast within his own family, and within the larger Team Rocket organization," he said. "And _no one_ understood why he couldn't get behind the 'message' of Team Rocket? He recognized long ago what you realized today: That the 'message' you've been feed is a sham, a way to draw underprivileged children in to do the nasty bidding of higher Team Rocket administration. Team Rocket is no home. It certainly was not to you today, was it?"

Domino inhaled sharply, her chest visibly tightening. Lance's lip twitched into that smirk that he had kept hidden for so long. He had done it; he had hit her weak point.

"A-Anyway," Domino continued, "Giovanni really did try with Kamon. Despite what he might have had us think, he did love him. There were times when it got so frustrating, though, that he just volleyed the kid to Petrel and I. Sometimes Proton, but whenever that happened, he just passed him down to Petrel and I anyway. Yet, Kamon hated us almost as much as he hated his father, and we tried, too. We tried to make him feel at home, to make him feel like he had his place in Team Rocket. We often took him on missions—usually to Johto—so he could get a feel for what the organization was all about."

"You have the most demented ideas of bonding."

"Do you want me to finish or not?"

"Sorry. Go on."

Domino pulled her cuffed hands into her lap.

"Then came the time Kamon ran into you," she said. Her gaze burned into Lance, and he frowned. "Giovanni sent Petrel and I to scout the Lake of Rage as a potential testing ground for the evolution induction experiment. It was a low-risk mission, so we brought Kamon along. You were there at the time for whatever reason, and when Kamon found out, he told you about it. So you stayed and began investigating without any of us knowing. Petrel and I took Kamon back to Sinnoh, and Tyson took over the experiment."

There was a spark of remembrance in Lance's eyes, and Domino saw it.

"Do you remember now?" she pressed.

"How did you know he told me?" It was an indirect 'yes.'

"He told us after it all fell apart," Domino answered, "after we returned to Sinnoh. We told his father, of course, and he was furious and demanded to see him. But Kamon had already left. He knew the consequences of betrayal, so he got out as quickly as he could. It was probably the smartest thing he ever did."

"Consequences of betrayal? He was his own _son_." Lance seemed disgusted.

"Oh, Giovanni wouldn't have done anything to him," Domino dismissed. "But there were others who would have."

"A _child_," Lance emphasized.

"I'm done explaining. You know who he is now, so answer my question."

Lance leaned back and folded his arms. He knew he'd pushed his limit, and while he wanted more, he was still satisfied.

"As a matter of fact, I do now remember briefly speaking with a young, red-haired male while visiting Mahogany Town with my student on unrelated business," he said frankly. "But that was the extent of it. I did not encourage him to join the G-Men, and it was not I who convinced him to reveal the location of the Hoenn and Sinnoh bases. If you want that story, you'll have to talk to my student, who led today's mission."

"Your student? Who-" Domino stopped, and her lips formed an 'o' shape. "... I see. I see it now. She wasn't supposed to, was she? She wasn't supposed to take Ash Ketchum and those other trainers to the Sinnoh base today."

Lance said nothing, and Domino let out a derisive chuckle.

"_Really_? You can't rein in a 15-year-old child? That's just embarrassing. I mean, _I_ had her down in less than two minutes."

Lance's jaw tightened. He had an inkling Domino was behind Leaf's injuries, but hearing her say it in that nearly gleeful tone had him inwardly seething, and it took every ounce of willpower within him not to explode—though he came close.

"Embarrassing? You're going to accuse the G-Men of embarrassing themselves? You, who couldn't rein in an 11-year-old child and, despite your organization's 'message,' couldn't sympathize and drove him to his supposed betrayal? You, who, because of your paranoia, cost the life of an innocent young Team Rocket agent whom your organization allegedly swore to protect, to give him a home? You, a grown woman who has clung desperately to an empty promise for half of her life? Tell me, which is really more embarrassing?"

Domino scoffed and looked away, though Lance could see she was bothered.

"Careful Lance," she muttered, "say things like that, and you may find I won't tell you what you want to hear."

"I suppose it's a matter of whom you hate less then." Lance shrugged. "Me or Giovanni?"

She was silent.

"Might I remind you," Lance continued, "you're going to jail no matter what. But cooperation is something judges always like to hear. And if you do cooperate, it comes with a side helping of revenge against your former boss."

"You answered my question," Domino mumbled. "Ask yours."

Lance paused, drumming his fingers on the table. He suspected this was his only shot; Domino would likely refuse further questions after this one.

"Why did they fail today?" Lance finally decided. "Why weren't they successful?"

Domino gave him the strangest look; appropriate, because it was a strange question. It borderline asked for her opinion, which she wouldn't have expected in the least bit.

"Because..." She paused, struggling to consolidate an answer. "Because they were wrong. They thought Mewtwo and Moltres were here in Sinnoh, when they're actually Unova."

"_Unova_?"

Domino breathed out in surprise; only now did she realize why he had worded his question in such a manner. Before Lance had the opportunity to press the matter, however, there was a knock on the door, and Steven entered.

"Pardon the interruption," he began calmly, though seriously. "Lance, Clair wants to speak with you. It's urgent."

**_June 11th, 1999. Noon. Mahogany Town._**

"It's perfect," Domino declared with a confident smile. "The lake is awash with tons of Magikarp, all ready for Dr. Zager's evolution induction ray. No one will know about our experimentation, either. Hardly any trainers ever visit the Lake of Rage, because no one _cares_ about seeing a bunch of useless Magikarp. They're not even edible. It's an awful tourist location."

She and Petrel were sitting beside each other, speaking with Proton through their laptop's webcam. Silver, meanwhile, laid flat on his hotel bed, twiddling his thumbs as he stared up at the ceiling. His Croconaw laid beside him, his full belly protruding high into the air. The Water-type, had he been awake, might have disagreed with the notion that Magikarp were inedible. Personally, he found them delicious; their tough skin was chewy, and their many bones were crunchy.

"Excellent," Proton said. "I'll let the Boss know right away. Good work, you two."

"Thank you, sir," Petrel said with a nod.

"If that's all, then you're free to return to Sinnoh."

"To... to return?" Domino blinked. "Why would we go now? We just told you it's perfect! As soon as Dr. Zager ships his ray out here, we can get started with experimentation."

"The Boss wants Kamon home again, and he trusts you two will return him safely," Proton answered. "He's turning the mission over to Tyson."

"B-but... this is _our_ mission!" Petrel stammered.

"Not anymore."

"Did we do something wrong?"

"No. The Boss just wants Kamon back."

Silver breathed out a frustrated sigh, but he said nothing. Petrel looked like he was about to protest further, but Domino spoke first.

"We understand. Thank you, Proton," she said before cutting out the video feed and shutting the laptop. As soon as she did, Petrel slammed his fist down onto the table.

"Dammit!" he swore aloud, startling both Domino and Silver. "This has gotta be the third time this has happened! I'm sick of getting screwed out of missions."

"Oh please." Domino rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a big baby. There are worse things that could happen."

"Dom, you _know_ the Boss is lookin' to bring up some new people to executive power for the Sinnoh base. Membership has exploded in Sinnoh, and it's become too much for Proton to handle alone."

"Proton isn't alone," Domino pointed out. "The Boss's office is in the Sinnoh base."

"Doesn't matter. The Boss is spread thin with managing the whole organization that he doesn't have the time to do anything for Sinnoh," Petrel mumbled. "Besides, haven't ya heard the rumors? Rumors that he's thinking about expanding again?"

"They're just rumors, Petey. Even so, expansion would be a year or two down the road."

"It could be in five years, and it wouldn't matter at this rate," Petrel argued back. "If we keep getting our missions passed onto other people, then we're gonna get passed over for the promotion you and I both deserve. I swear to Mew, if Butch and Cassidy get picked over us, or _worse_, Jessie and James-"

"-Are you kidding me?" Domino scoffed. "They're nowhere on the table. You know why you and I have to keep coming all the way out to Indigo all the time? It's because the duos out here are too incompetent to do these missions themselves. If there's a promotion, it's ours hands-down. Giovanni owes it to us for taking care of his stupid kid all the time..."

"Hey, I'm _here_ you know," Silver spoke up for the first time in a while, and both Domino and Petrel turned their heads to look at him. Silver sat up and returned his Croconaw before adding, "I'm hungry. I'm going out to get lunch."

He started heading for the door, but Domino stopped him.

"Oh no you don't," she said. "Don't you remember the last time you went out on your own? You caused nothing but trouble for Petrel and I. We were sure your father would have our heads once there were wanted signs for the 'silver-eyed thief.'"

"Yeah, well," Silver began, folding his arms, "it all turned out fine in the end, didn't it? Dad was actually quite proud you two had 'guided me' to steal my first Pokémon."

Domino frowned, placing her hands on her hips.

"All right," she tentatively agreed, stepping aside, "but don't do anything to draw attention, OK? If I have to bail you out of juvie, that'll come straight from my pocket."

"Fine," Silver agreed begrudgingly. "I wasn't planning on doing anything bad anyway, but now that you mention it, I'll make an extra effort to be a fine, upstanding citizen today."

* * *

"I will not start battling again," Pryce said defiantly. "I don't care how many complaints you've received. Nothing you can do will change my mind."

Lance heaved a sigh, leaning his folded arms on the table. Leaf, who was sitting up straight and had stayed quiet for the entire conversation, flicked her gaze toward her mentor with a frown.

"I'm not forcing you to begin accepting challengers again, Pryce," the Champion replied. "I'm just concerned. You've been a gym leader for more than 40 years. It seems strange to me that you'd suddenly start refusing trainers."

"Concerned?" Pryce scoffed. "Sure. Then why'd you bring the kid along?" He then pointedly looked at Leaf. "Look, girlie, I'm sorry if I disappointed you by refusing gym battles. No amount of puppy-dog pouts will convince me, though. You're just going to have to move on to another town."

Leaf looked offended, and Lance spoke up on her behalf.

"Leaf doesn't challenge gyms anymore," he said.

"A coordinator?"

"No," Lance answered shortly. "She's my student. She's here to learn."

"OK, Lance." Pryce rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

"Will you at least tell me what has you bothered?" Lance asked.

"No. That's not your prerogative."

"Well, it actually is, because I'm the Champion."

"Don't you have more important things to worry about? Like Team Rocket?" Pryce pushed himself away from the table before standing up. "Thanks for the lunch, but I ought to get going."

He stalked out of the café's double doors, just as a young, red-haired male was entering the establishment. He stared after the Ice-type specialist for a long moment, eyebrows furrowed, but he eventually shook his head and went up to the counter to order his food.

"That went well," Leaf said, finally speaking up.

Lance didn't respond, merely sighing again and rubbing his temple.

"Would you like me to get you more coffee?" Leaf asked, though she had already begun to slowly rise out of her chair.

"Yes. Thank you."

Leaf left the table and formed a two-person line, standing behind the red-haired boy who had just entered the café.

"That'll be $6.37," the cashier informed the boy. Silver reached into his pockets and pulled out a few crumpled bills and some change, laying them out on the table. The cashier's forced smile twitched as she picked up the tender, counted it, sorted it, and gave the boy his food.

Silver quickly found an empty table, unwrapping his sandwich. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a flash of the flaming red hair he'd seen so often on television and in magazines. He did a double take. Only now had he noticed that Lance Grayson was sitting near the window, nibbling on his food and reading a newspaper he'd pulled out of his bag.

Silver stared for a long time, and eventually, Lance noticed. He didn't seem terribly bothered by it, though. This sort of thing happened often since he'd attained the Championship title. Many children and adolescents viewed him as their idol, and he had grown used to their awed gazes. He knew it was only a matter of time before the boy came to talk to him—and he was right.

Leaving his sandwich behind, Silver stood and approached the Champion. Lance looked up at him expectantly.

"You're Lance, the leader of the G-Men, aren't you?"

The question caught Lance off guard. He was hardly known for his work with the G-Men; none of the Champions were. Their pageantry received greater attention than their politics.

"... Yes," Lance drew the word out slowly. He no longer suspected the boy was going to ask for his autograph.

"You should keep an eye on the Lake of Rage for the next couple of weeks," Silver said plainly.

"The Lake of Rage?" Lance raised his eyebrows. "Why? Is there something you know?"

"Lance!"

Both the Champion and Silver turned their heads as Leaf approached with his cup of coffee in hand.

"They were out of half-and-half, so I put in skim, if you don't mind," she said, sliding the drink toward him. She then noticed Silver's presence, as he glared at her, and then at Lance.

"Sorry, I think an introduction is in order," Lance said, but he paused when he realized he hadn't asked for the name of the boy.

"Is _this_ also a G-Men agent?" Silver asked, almost coldly. Leaf blinked and drew back slightly. 'This' was a strange pronoun to use; it reduced her existence to that of an object.

"Yes," Lance answered. "She's my student."

"I see." Silver then turned on his heel, snatched up his sandwich back at his own table, and quickly hurried out of the café.

"Wait!" Lance called after him, standing up, but it was too late. The boy was gone.

"What was that all about?" Leaf scoffed.

Lance frowned and slowly sat back down. His gaze remained turned toward the window, where he had seen the boy disappear. He took his coffee in hand and had a sip before looking back at Leaf.

"... It was nothing," he said. "Just forget about it."

Leaf raised her eyebrows but didn't question it as she pulled out the chair Pryce had occupied earlier and sat across from Lance.

"So, are we headed back to the Indigo Plateau then?" she asked.

"I think I'm going to stick around a bit longer," Lance replied.

"Why? I think Pryce made it pretty clear he's not going to start accepting challengers anytime soon."

"It's not for Pryce."

"What other reason would we stay?" Leaf appeared confused.

"No 'we' in this, Leaf," Lance said, taking a second sip of his coffee. "_I'm_ staying behind. I'm going to contact Clair and ask if she'd be willing to look after you for a little while."

"What?" Leaf's confusion intensified. "Why can't I stay with you? Besides, it's not like I need Clair to babysit me. I did travel by myself for almost a whole year before we met."

"I know that. I also know that you like Clair, and I think you might benefit from learning from her for a little bit."

"I suppose... but I like learning from you better."

Lance stared, his fingers tapping against the heated edge of coffee cup. He didn't know how to respond to that.

"This isn't up for discussion," he finally decided. "You can choose to either go back to the Indigo Plateau by yourself, or you can stay with Clair, if she agrees. You can't be with me for now."

Leaf leaned back in her chair and sighed.

"... Fine then."

**_March 5th, 2002. After Midnight. Plane to Unova._**

The plane was silent; however, it was a peaceful, easy silence, unlike the lulls that had held the group captive on the Ampharos Train or at the dinner table in the Lake Acuity Pokémon Center. Zoey had suggested the group try to catch up on their sleep, and it was well-received. Yesterday had been a long day, and today wouldn't be any shorter.

There were a few to whom sleep would not come, however, and one of those people was Ash Ketchum. He knew the standard 'rules' of flying included remaining seated with his belt fastened, but Winona wasn't cognizant enough to enforce them. So, he left his sleeping Pikachu on Misty's lap and meandered up and down the aisle with outstretched hands, touching the edges of each of his friend's seats as he passed by them.

"Ash, what are you doing?" Leaf mumbled when he reached her. Her chair was still fully reclined, and she didn't even try to sit up at a normal angle when she spoke.

"Ah... sorry, I didn't realize you were awake," Ash said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"That's all right. I spent half of the day in and out of unconsciousness anyway, so I'm not terribly tired," Leaf responded. "You have no excuse, though. Sit down and go to sleep."

"I tried," Ash insisted. "I couldn't. I got too much adrenaline runnin' in me, ya know? After so long... I'm just so pumped. I'm ready to go. I'm ready to save Mewtwo and meet my father."

"That's nice Ash," Leaf yawned. "You're not going to be of any help if your eyes are half-closed, though."

"That's why I was walkin' up and down the place. I'm trying to burn off all this extra energy so I can get to sleep," Ash said. "Besides... I don't know, maybe this'll sound weird, but seeing all you here is just... helping me appreciate what you've done for me so much more. I'm glad I came around."

Leaf stared, her eyes scanning the features of his face. The funny thing was, he looked the same as he did as a child, except maybe a tad less baby fat in his cheeks. Moreover, most of the time, he still talked like the 10-year-old she remembered—then he'd say something that would catch her by surprise and render her speechless.

"Something wrong?" Ash inquired when her silence started to make him uncomfortable.

"No. You're fine. I'm glad you came around, too," Leaf said with a gentle smile. She then shook her head before more firmly repeating, "Sit down."

"I already told you: I'm not tired."

"Well... maybe Drew has some more Butterfree Sleeping Powder?"

"No," Drew answered tersely from where he was sitting. His eyes were closed, and his arms were folded, giving off the impression that he was asleep. May was leaning against his shoulder, though she actually was asleep.

Leaf sighed and looked back at Ash.

"Please Ash," she implored, "just... relax, close your eyes, and you'll drift off."

"I can't. " Ash shook his head. "I'm sorry. I'm not _trying_ to be difficult. It always gets weird at these times. No matter how hard I try, I can't sleep at all, 'cause I start thinking, and I start getting all these pictures in my head."

"I think this is where drugs come into play," Gary mumbled, half-asleep. Ash and Leaf turned their heads toward Gary as he stirred, rubbed his eyes, and reached down into his bag, pulling out a medicinal bottle.

"These are made from Pinap berries," he explained, opening it up and dropping a chalky, yellow tablet into his hand. "They make you sleepy, though they're not nearly as powerful as Butterfree Sleeping Powder. Still, one should put you down for several hours."

"Where did you get that?" Leaf asked.

"From Nurse Joy, for you," Gary answered. "After the Aguavite kicked in, though, you seemed to be doing well, and you went to sleep by yourself. Guess _Ash_ woke you up, though."

Ash ducked his head shyly and apologized again, but he accepted the Pinap tablet and swallowed it dry.

"Do you want one, too?" Gary offered, but Leaf shook her head.

"I'll hold off for now."

"Suit yourself." Gary shrugged. "If you need it, it's in my bag."

He fell back asleep in no time. Ash returned to his seat beside Misty, picking up Pikachu and setting him on his lap. It wasn't long before his breathing evened out, and he was asleep, too.

It was then that Leaf awkwardly slid out of her chair, crawling into the aisle before grasping the armrests on either side and pulling herself up. She staggered past the other trainers, trying to support herself where she could, until she reached the cockpit and pulled the curtain aside.

Silver was still awake, standing near his Alakazam. Winona remained seated, robotically operating the plane.

"There something you need?" he muttered, clearly displeased to be bothered.

"There is, actually," Leaf replied. "I wanted to talk to you. Ask you something, really, because it's been gnawing at me for several hours now."

"Ask away, I suppose."

Leaf nodded, but leaned against the wall to catch her breath. Gary was right; moving around was _not_ fun, and it wasn't going to be fun for a while. Getting back there on her own had been a chore.

Silver raised an eyebrow and said, "You can sit down if you want."

"Not unless you do," she retorted.

He scoffed. Typical; it was clear she had been trained well, though. If she sat down by herself, then she put her on a lower level than him. She wanted to maintain equal ground.

"Fine," he groused, deciding he felt bad for her. "I will."

She seemed relieved as she slid down the wall until she was on the ground, practically crumpled in a heap. Silver sat across from her with his legs pulled close to him; the space was so cramped, there was no other way to sit without their limbs becoming tangled.

"So?" Silver prompted.

She breathed in, taking a moment to consider how she should approach the topic.

"I suppose I'm just... confused—perhaps even a bit annoyed," she confessed.

"About what?"

"The morning I used Hypno to draw Butch and Cassidy into that spell, you seemed really bothered, and you even made a snide comment about Lance being my teacher," Leaf explained. "Yet, you had no problems doing the same with Winona. Why is that? Where did you even learn how to use those tactics with Hypnosis?"

"I spent the first 11 years of my life among a bunch of high-profile Team Rocket agents," Silver replied shortly. "I picked up some things."

"All right, fair," Leaf conceded. "Still, why is it OK for you to use it and not me?"

"You don't find it disturbing that the G-Men and Team Rocket use the same methods?"

"Not if there's different intent," Leaf said. "Why do you dislike the G-Men so much anyway?"

"Daddy always said never to trust a G-Men agent," Silver mocked.

"See, I don't get that." Leaf shook her head. "You _hate_ your father."

"He's right to hate the G-Men, though," Silver replied. "We hate them for different reasons, but still. He sees the G-Men as his opponent, as something to overcome before he can gain his power. I view it differently—as an outsider looking at two competing forces. The G-Men and Team Rocket, when it comes down to it, are two sides of the same coin, and I can't stand it."

"I don't get what you're saying."

Silver's head fell back against the wall, and he averted his gaze away from hers, thinking.

"The sick thing about Team Rocket," he began slowly, "is how it builds its membership. You normally don't see nice kids like May Maple end up in a Team Rocket uniform. Team Rocket focuses its recruitment on the outcasts, on the kids who come from broken homes with abusive fathers and dead mothers. It takes advantage of their feelings of hopelessness by offering them a 'future.' It boasts of wealth, of happiness, of a place to call home—all empty promises. It's entrapment; enslavement to a power-hungry organization."

"I still don't understand how this relates to the G-Men," Leaf droned.

Silver breathed out, frustrated.

"Two years ago," he began, "I met Lance in Mahogany Town. I was with Domino and Petrel, and I was mad at them, so I just decided to—well, I tipped Lance off about this evolution induction experiment Team Rocket was planning at the Lake of Rage."

Leaf's breath hitched, her eyes widening.

"Then this girl showed up," Silver continued. "She was probably a year older than me, but that didn't matter. Lance said she was also a G-Men agent, and that's when I realized that the G-Men does the same thing as Team Rocket. It draws in kids for its political purposes."

"Silver, that was _me_," Leaf finally said. Her voice was pitched a note higher than usual. "Wait, that was _you_?"

Silver appeared confused, but his eyes widened, too, as realization also dawned on him.

"You're the boy with the red hair," Leaf went on. "I remember, now, because after Lance talked to you, he had me shipped off to Clair for several weeks with practically no explanation. He came back with a story and a Red Gyarados."

"Yeah, well that was because of me," Silver mumbled in response, "and I ended up having to leave Team Rocket after I told Domino and Petrel what I did."

"Well, that's not the G-Men's fault."

"No, that's not my point. I had wanted to leave Team Rocket for a while by then—telling them why the evolution induction experiment was my rebellious 11-year-old way of going out in 'style.'"

"OK, so then what is your point?" Leaf asked. "I get it: Team Rocket is awful. It's awful what they do to get members. But the G-Men isn't the same way."

"See? You're just as spellbound. You're no better than Domino or Petrel or any other Team Rocket agent. You've fallen for an illusion, and you're not willing to let it go."

"You can't say that," Leaf protested. "You've never been a part of the G-Men. You don't know Lance's and my relationship."

"I don't have to," Silver retorted, "because your behavior for the past couple of months has told me enough."

"Please, enlighten me," Leaf growled.

"Fine. I can see it clear as day," Silver began firmly. "You are _desperate_ to retain Lance's favor after disobeying his order to take Ash and the others to Dragon's Den. You want Ash to succeed so bad, not because you actually care that the world needs saving, but because you realize that his failure would fall upon your head. Why else would you be here? You can hardly walk, and you're in so much pain that we can hardly stand to look at you, but you're here because you want to snatch the credit if Ash manages to stop my father. You want something to show for these last two months."

Leaf said nothing.

"You're afraid," Silver spat. "You're afraid that when all is said and done, you'll be locked out of the G-Men, and you'll have nothing again. Lance's 'affection' toward you is conditional upon your obedience. You're his pawn, just like everyone else under his control, and _that's_ why I don't think the G-Men are any better than Team Rocket."

Leaf's gaze fell, and she remained silent for a long time. Silver watched her carefully, frowning, and he couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy for her.

"You're wrong still," Leaf started quietly, and Silver raised his eyebrows. "The G-Men are still better than Team Rocket. When you 'betrayed' Team Rocket, you feared for your life. When I betrayed Lance, I feared for my happiness. Big difference. I don't have anything to fear anymore, though. I know now that, no matter what, I won't have nothing in the end. I'll have Gary and Ash."

"What a great comfort that must be for you," Silver muttered sarcastically.

"It is, actually." Leaf staggered to her feet. "I might be sacrificing a lot—I might be sacrificing a familial relationship that, whether genuine or not, means a lot to me—but it's not for nothing. I have found friends here. Which is more than I can say for you."

She disappeared back into the cabin. Silver didn't bother to stand back up. He simply sat and stared at the curtain where Leaf had gone in silence.

**_December 1st, 1999. Late Evening. Olivine City._**

"Silver! Silver, wait!"

He didn't want to stop; he didn't want to turn around and look at her again, to look into those warm brown eyes full of invasive concern again. Yet, Lyra's desperate cries compelled him to stop before he hit the bottom step, and he turned his hard gaze toward her.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I didn't mean to push any buttons with you."

"Well, you did," Silver replied coldly.

"I didn't _mean_ it," Lyra pressed. "I'm not trying to be nosy for the sake of being nosy, Silver. I didn't ask about your family to fill some sick curiosity or unravel the mystery of you for _fun_. I can see that you're hurting—that there's something that's really bothering you—and I want to help."

"I don't need your help." He turned again, prepared to make that last step and continue on his way out of Pokémon Center's doors and her life.

"You push away anyone who could possibly care about you!" Lyra's volume rose higher until it was far too loud for what was appropriate indoors. Silver stopped short again, and Lyra's voice shook as she asked in an almost-whisper, "Why do you do that?"

Silver didn't miss a beat.

"I don't know."

Their gazes connected for a long moment. Neither said anything; neither knew what to say.

"Well..." Lyra swallowed, breaking the silence. "Come back upstairs. I won't ask about it again tonight. I'll tell Khoury not to bother you, either. Just... come back upstairs."

"I will," Silver answered simply. Lyra seemed hesitant, but she nodded and slowly turned around to head back to her room, expecting Silver would follow.

He didn't, though. He waited at the bottom for perhaps a minute or so, waiting to see if she would come back, or if she really trusted that he would come up on his own. He seemed bothered when the latter became obvious, and he readjusted the grip on his backpack before breaking his promise and leaving the center.

**_March 5th, 2002. After Midnight. Snowpoint City._**

Nearly two months ago, Drayden couldn't seem to grasp why Lance would want to follow Steven's footsteps and resign from the Championship title while still young; Lance now knew if the question were posed to him again, he would point to the present situation as a reason. The Dragon Master felt as though his very sanity were being pulled apart, bit by bit, as new details emerged and old plots began to disintegrate.

"_Kyurem_?" he breathed, angry. "Kyurem? Giovanni captured Kyurem?"

After Steven came to Lance with Clair's concerns, the Indigo Champion decided to put in a few calls himself, beginning with an obligatory attempt to contact Winona—which was, not surprisingly, unsuccessful. Then he redirected his attention to the Lake Acuity Pokémon Center to check with Nurse Joy whether the trainers had departed. All but one had left.

It was only when he spoke to Nando and Conway, however, that he gained the gritty details he wanted. Nando had been completely frank: He told Lance Winona has been hypnotized (he didn't say by whom, but Lance hastily concluded it had to be Leaf) and that she was being forced to take the sixteen (Silver apparently included) to Unova.

Conway was a bit more hesitant to open up, but he eventually spilled some of the information he and the other had found while inside the Sinnoh base earlier yesterday morning—from the hit list to Meloetta to Kyurem. It was too much to process at once.

The worst came when he found out that Team Rocket had successfully acted on its plans to capture Kyurem, which had prompted the young trainers to take action.

"Well, how serious is that?" Wallace posed the question innocently enough, but it struck a nerve with the already rattled Lance.

"It's _serious_," he said through gritted teeth, as though it were obvious, as though Wallace were stupid to even ask. The Hoenn Champion appeared displeased by Lance's both vague and harsh answer, so he turned an eye to Cynthia. She also seemed exasperated—not with him, but rather the situation.

"I'm not as studied in Unova mythology as I am with that of my home region," she began, "but Kyurem is not a force to be taken lightly."

"That's an understatement," Lance growled. "Team Rocket now has three Legendary Pokémon under their control. Having Moltres and Mewtwo was bad, and the deteriorating weather placed a strain on the people of the nation and undercut the G-Men's authority, but Kyurem can seal the deal. If we don't solve this now, we'll lose our ground, and Giovanni will take over."

"Don't panic now, Lance," Cynthia gently admonished. "We disassembled the Hoenn branch of Team Rocket last month, and we are in the process of the taking apart the one in Sinnoh. Giovanni is probably just as worried as we are. His Project Legendary has lost traction as time has dragged on, and if the plot with Kyurem fails, then Team Rocket is done."

"I realize that. It doesn't improve the situation; it just means both organizations are teetering on the edge of collapse," Lance said, almost dryly. "One is going down, and it could be us. That fact alone should be enough to elicit some concern."

"I _am_ concerned," Cynthia defended. "I'm just trying to maintain a calm head."

Steven re-entered the room, his PokéNav in hand.

"I contacted some G-Men agents at the Indigo Plateau," he informed. "After consulting several major airlines and accounting for their pilots, they identified what they think might be Winona's plane on the satellite radar."

"Right, so what do we do about them?" Wallace asked.

"We need to know where they plan to land," Lance answered, "so we can intercept them."

"They can't say for sure where they're landing," Steven said. "They're over the ocean right now."

"Great," Lance muttered bitterly, raking his fingers through his hair. He sank into a nearby chair. "Just great." He placed his head down on the table. "I don't even know how or where to begin. We've got almost two hundred Team Rocket agents sitting in the cold outside, a troubled Legendary, a pack of sixteen trainers upon which this entire mess is hinged, and a crime organization prepared to pull the rug out from underneath us. I'm out of directions to be pulled. I swear to Arceus, if there's one more thing-"

He stopped short when Alder slid in through the door behind Steven. The Unova Champion appeared greatly troubled. His gaze was cloudy with apprehension; his eyes were a simple, though genuine reflection of the way they all felt.

"Where've you been?" Lance asked, rising to his feet again. "We've run into crisis."

"I know."

"Then-"

"-Wait," Cynthia interjected as a thought occurred to her. "Alder, do you know where Kyurem lives? Kyurem, the Legendary from Unova."

Alder appeared bemused by the question.

"Kyurem?" he inquired. "Well... in my travels, I've always heard that he lives in the mountains overlooking Opelucid City."

"Opelucid City." Cynthia turned to Lance. "That's where Team Rocket must be, and that's where the trainers are going. They'll be after Kyurem."

"Cyndi, you're wonderful," Steven breathed with a warm smile, and even Lance seemed pleased by her quick deduction. Alder, however, still seemed confused.

"What's this with Kyurem?" he asked.

"Alder, you said you knew about the crisis." Wallace blinked. "Team Rocket captured Kyurem. We think Leaf, Silver, and the fourteen are trying to stop them on their own."

"I was not referring to that," Alder corrected with a frown, "though that's certainly not good news, either."

"Alder, what's happened?" Steven asked. His voice rose just the slightest bit as it filled with anxiety.

The Unova Champion was silent for a long moment, as his expression fell.

"News broke that Jack McGonnigal, Tristan's—ahh, Trip's—father was arrested after neighbors called when they heard screaming next door." Alder conveyed all this in a solemn tone, and the color from Cynthia's face visibly drained. "There was a domestic dispute, and Emily McGonnigal told Jack their son is alive. The reporters swamped me outside when I tried to get here, demanding a comment."

Lance exhaled, and he was nearly shaking. It was exactly what he wanted to avoid; an early leak to the media.

"H-How?" he sputtered, appalled and angry. "How did Emily know Trip is alive?"

"No," Cynthia bleated weakly. She fell back against the wall, burying her face in her hands. "Oh no. No, no, no."

"Cynthia?" Steven appalled. "Did you tell Emily?"

"I'm sorry, I was trying-" Her voice was watery around the edges, and when she dropped her arms, it was clear her eyes were, too. "Oh Arceus. Lance, Alder, I'm _so sorry_."

"We'll deal." Lance's quick acceptance of situation caught everyone off guard. He had no choice, though. He realized he couldn't let his emotions deteriorate and distract from the issues. That was not his weakness; he couldn't allow it. "When reporters ask, continue to respond with 'no comment.' Let them speculate for themselves; let them conclude she's a deluded, battered woman."

"Lance..." Cynthia pleaded, but he wouldn't hear it.

"_Emotions_, Cynthia," he emphasized, and she didn't protest any further. "As for the fourteen... if Adalet catches an immediate flight from Johto to Unova, he will make it there before they do. He will stop them, and they will have to wait for the rest of us to catch up."

"You're including them?" Wallace seemed surprised.

"I'd like for us to get on the same level," Lance responded. "I want as many G-Men units shipped out there. Call the people who helped us with Hoenn, too. They're going for a fight, and we should, too."

"That condones Leaf's behavior," Steven pointed out. "Lance, I recognize your intentions for Leaf, but this has been unacceptable. Taking these past few months into account, perhaps you should reconsider."

"That's a bold thing to say for a man who is no longer Champion," Lance said sharply, without a hint of hesitation. Cynthia's throat tightened, and even Wallace, unfamiliar with the G-Men's politics, knew it was an incredibly tense topic.

"Lance, don't you think-" the Hoenn Champion began tentatively, but Steven cut him off.

"It's OK, Wallace," he said. "Lance is right. I overstepped my boundaries. I apologize."

He and the Indigo Champion's bitter, disdainful gazes connected. Cynthia frowned and looked down. She couldn't watch.

"We should waste no more time," Lance said after a long moment. Wallace, Cynthia, and Alder immediately dispersed to escape the awful tension, but Steven lingered behind with Lance a moment longer.

"You should realize, Steven, that Leaf and I are not the only ones who've made mistakes in this," Lance said once they were alone.

"I know. I am sorry." Steven seemed calm again.

"I am, too," Lance admitted, which surprised Steven. An apology from Lance was something he never expected he would receive, even if it was mutually understood under all the denial and pride. "We used to be friends. I regret that we aren't anymore. I realize it was because of our disagreement over Leaf and Cynthia that you became disillusioned and resigned."

"Therein lies my own mistake," Steven said. "I never should have left. I was clinging to an ideal that I now realize isn't possible anymore."

He moved forward to go past the Dragon Master, but Lance spoke before he could leave.

"If it's any consolation—" Steven stopped, slowly turning to face the Indigo Champion again. "—despite what you may perceive, I _do_ know the choices you made in Cynthia and Wallace were excellent ones."

**_March 5th, 2002. Middle of the night. White Forest._**

"... Chili, you've got to stop gripping the steering wheel so hard." Cress gently touched the whitening knuckles of his brother's hand, and the redhead eased up. He hadn't realized he'd been so tense.

"Sorry Cress," he apologized with a forced grin. "I guess I'm just..."

"I know." Cress nodded understandingly. "I'm still processing it, too. But Cilan needs our help."

Chili bit his lip but nodded. To say the phone call had come as a surprise would have been an understatement; in fact, Chili had thrown up all the sweets he'd consumed that evening after the conversation with Cilan ended. It took some time—maybe a half-hour—to get themselves in order emotionally before they even hit the road. As more time passed, however, they became increasingly adjusted to the wonderful news their brother was _alive_.

Still, that news was accompanied with some not-so-good news. Knowing that the success of saving Kyurem, Moltres, and the so-called Mewtwo was possibly hinged upon them finding Meloetta was crushingly overwhelming.

Chili shook his head and, deciding he needed a distraction from his thoughts, reached out and turned on the radio.

"_... For those of you just now tuning in, Nuvema Police released a report after midnight regarding a domestic abuse case in which-_"

Chili changed the station. He didn't want to listen to the news; he had been listening to the news for the past several months. He wanted to hear some music, preferably from his favorite band, Pink Dunsparce.

"Don't bother with that now," Cress suddenly interjected. "Let's stop here."

The redhead seemed a tad disappointed, but he nodded as he decelerated, put the car into 'park,' and turned off the engine. Cress immediately stepped out of the vehicle, dead leaves crunching under his feet. The roads were not well maintained; humans rarely ventured into the forest.

Chili followed his brother's lead, though his eyes were glued to breathtakingly tall canopy of trees that hung above him. Only tiny patches of the star-speckled sky could be seen through the foliage.

"So..." Cress began, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "I've been reading up on the stories and few interactions people have had with Meloetta on my PokéTablet, trying to figure out how we can find her. It turns out she's drawn to music."

"Aw, sweet! So, I _do_ get to listen to music."

"She's definitely not drawn to _your_ kind of music."

"Oh..." Chili pouted. "What are you planning to do then?"

Cress took his compact PokéPlayer out of his pocket and set it on top of the car's hood. He then hooked it up to a couple of small speakers and, after reaching back into the car, pulled out a bag of generic Pokémon food. He filled a bowl full of the brown kibbles and laid it beside the music player.

"I didn't have time to prepare the food Meloetta specifically likes, but hopefully this'll do," Cress finally replied. "I also have a classical music playlist that's set to loop."

"So... ?"

Cress turned on the PokéPlayer. The rich chords of a symphony began to fill the air.

"We watch, and we wait," Cress said, sliding back into the passenger's seat.

**_March 5th, 2002. Middle of the night. Viridian City._**

Drayden didn't need to be told something was wrong. He already knew it. He could feel it in the air the moment he woke up in the late evening after a disturbing dream. The call from Lance telling him Kyurem has been captured, therefore, could only be expected.

"_I need you to gather together the other Unova gym leaders_," his son told him over the phone. "_Prepare them for a fight, but do not do anything until I, Cynthia, Wallace, and Alder arrive. The exception is if Giovanni acts first._"

"Giovanni has already acted first," Drayden said. "He has Kyurem. That is an act. I will not wait."

"_Father_." Lance seemed as though he were pleading. "_Please_. _I know how this affects you, but we must be a unified force. If we are disjointed, then that is a weakness that Giovanni can use to overcome us. Adalet is going to be in Opelucid today, too, to make sure those arriving trainers do not act rashly before we arrive. You're an adult. Please do not be the one who acts rashly._"

"You may be a Champion, Lance, but I am your parent."

The other end of the line fell silent, and Drayden sighed.

"This growing dread in me, though—I cannot promise it will not overcome my reasoning," Drayden continued. It was a concession; a promise to hold off for a little while longer.

"_Well... please do your best to ensure it doesn't._"

**_March 5th, 2002. Middle of the night. Viridian City._**

No bags were packed. The word that the fourteen had been at the Sinnoh base earlier and that they were now headed to Unova spread quickly among the team of adults in the lower Kanto area, and it had them out of their beds and out the door to the Viridian City airport. The knowledge that there was a bitter battle ahead didn't weigh them down; if a pack of teenagers were ready to put up a fight, then so were they.

"It looks like the next flight for Opelucid leaves at 4:30 a.m.," Brock commented as he and the others approached the flight board.

"_4:30_? That's, like, two hours away!" Daisy heaved an exasperated sigh.

"Don't worry about it so much," Tracey pointed out calmly. "If those trainers are coming in from Sinnoh, we'll arrive around the same time."

"That's not the main concern," Brandon said, shaking his head. "There needs to be people in Opelucid now if Team Rocket has captured Kyurem. A handful of Unova gym leaders and the region's Elite Four can only do so much, and the Champions are further behind than we are."

"Aren't there G-Men forces in Unova?" Reggie asked. "There's got to be other people there."

"Alder's a well-known pacifist. The G-Men exist in Unova only in name," Brandon explained.

"Well, that's just hunky-dory," Harley said snidely. "Wonder how that's working out for him now?"

"Alder is a product of his time," Brandon continued his defense. "The G-Men were not nearly as powerful or large when he first earned the title."

"Well, there's no use in criticizing what's not there," Solidad sighed. "We'll work with what we've got. If the plane leaves at 4:30 a.m., then so do we. In the meantime, we can work on maybe recruiting some others to join us."

"Isn't that what the G-Men are doing?" Reggie asked.

"Cynthia seemed a bit overwhelmed when I spoke to her," Solidad explained. "Moreover, their baseline is those who helped with Hoenn. An expanded force wouldn't hurt."

"Who are you thinking, Solidad?" Brock inquired.

"Oh, I don't know... maybe your sisters, Daisy?" she suggested. "Delia? Professor Oak? Even if they're not battlers, they deserve to know what's going on. I'm not doing any more favors for Lance."

"Daisy's sisters don't know Misty's alive," Tracey pointed out.

"Hey! Guys, come look at this!" The eight turned when they heard Maylene call from a short distance away, none having realized that she had become stuck on something else. She was watching a breaking news report: Jack McGonnigal had been arrested after beating his wife, and upon Emily's say-so, speculation that the fourteen were alive was running rampant.

Solidad breathed out as she went to Maylene's side. It took her a moment to remember how exactly the McGonnigal family was connected, but she eventually figured they were the parents of Trip, the blond boy from Unova.

"... Well, I suppose that doesn't matter anymore, does it?"

**_March 5th, 2002. Sunrise. White Forest._**

Chili was bored out of his mind. It wasn't that he disliked classical music—it was all right—the primary problem was the history lessons Cress kept giving in a half-whisper. It seemed there was a story behind every single composition, and he felt compelled to talk about all of them. In a way, it reminded Chili of Cilan's obsession with trains.

Cress eventually dozed off, however, leaving Chili alone with the continuous loop, and that had grown, well, repetitive. His eyes were beginning to droop, too, but he knew he couldn't sleep. He needed to continue waiting, in case Meloetta came.

Then the thought popped into his mind that with Cress asleep, maybe he could turn on the radio... just a tiny bit, to a low volume. Not enough to drive off Meloetta. Thinking it a brilliant idea (as well as the only way to stay awake), Chili inserted the car keys back into the ignition and turned on the power. He turned down the dial and leaned close to the speakers, so he could hear as he flipped through the stations.

He finally settled on a song by the Rockin' Raikou, which, while it wasn't as good as Pink Dunsparce, was one of Chili's preferred bands. He listened to the band's hit, "Water Conducts Electricity," at the lowest volume for several seconds. He quickly grew dissatisfied, however, thinking the lyrics couldn't be fully appreciated when they were being sung so quietly, so he turned it up.

"Chili, turn that atrocity off," Cress grumbled, half-asleep.

"Oh, come on." Chili breathed a frustrated sigh. "The classical music's obviously not working. She's not here."

"Just give it some time, Chili..."

"We have given it time! Four hours of it!"

The brothers were so busy arguing that they didn't notice the blue-eyed, pale-faced Melody Pokémon teleport into the back of their car. She folded a slender leg over the other as she floated in the air, watching them fight. She then looked toward the car radio, focusing her attention on the song.

"You just need to be patient."

"Maybe Meloetta doesn't like classical music. Maybe she likes Rock better, like normal people."

"_Etta!_" Meloetta kindly told the boys to be quiet, as she was enjoying the song. They recoiled away from each other in shock and then looked at Meloetta, who was casually chilling behind them. Chili nearly yelped, but Cress reached over and slapped his hand over his brother's mouth.

"Just... calm... down..." Cress said slowly, quietly. "We don't... want... to scare... her."

Chili nodded quickly, and Cress let go of him. They stared at the Normal-type Legendary for quite a while, their mouths agape as she hummed along with the chorus to "Water Conducts Electricity."

"Etta, Meloetta?" she finally asked.

"Y-You like that?" Chili stammered. "You want me to turn it up?"

"Ta." She nodded.

The Melody Pokémon became visibly delighted as Chili fumbled to bring up the volume, and she floated past the boys and out the door, toward the open air. She stopped on top of the hood of their car and let out several giggles before beginning to bound around, dancing. Chili and Cress exchanged confused glances. Then, the Fire-type specialist grinned.

"Looks like she's a Rockin' Raikou kind of gal."

**_March 5th, 2002. Early Morning. Opelucid City._**

Ash's lower back felt a bit sore when he first came around; sleeping while sitting up was never comfortable, and he took a moment to stretch his arms and rub the affected area. He then surveyed his surroundings and was surprised to find that everyone still seemed to be asleep.

He leaned back against the headrest, unsure of what to do. Even Pikachu and Misty were still snoozing. Not wanting to disturb any of his friends, however, he glanced around, looking for other forms of entertainment. His gaze landed on the bag against Leaf's feet, which had her laptop inside.

He grinned and snatched up the device, without bothering the agent, of course. Surprisingly, though, he didn't want the computer for recreational activities; he wanted to do something productive.

After booting it up and connecting to the Internet, Ash opted to visit a search engine. He typed in 'opelucid city news,' wondering if any disaster had struck while they were sleeping. He was relieved that none of the media outlets seemed to be reporting on any happenings in the northern Unova city, but he did see Nuvema Town show up in a few headlines...

He didn't worry about that, though. He still wanted to know more. He located the city's homepage and checked the events section. He was quite surprised to find that the Don George family was hosting another of their famous tournaments there, and that it was in its second day. Ash did some more digging through cyberspace and found the entrant list.

The plane suddenly jolted as the wheels hit the ground, and Ash had to grab for the laptop as it nearly slid out of his lap. He had not even realized they had begun their descent, and neither had anyone else. He heard several yelps and groans from those around them as they were rudely awakened. A few who weren't wearing their seat belts had the misfortune of hitting their heads.

"Did... Did we just land?" Ritchie asked, shaking off his sleepiness.

"Man!" Barry jumped to his feet. "I am so sick of us getting jostled around all the time! If it were possible, I would fine the creator of stop-motion physics."

Silver pulled the curtain back and entered the cabin.

"Is everyone OK?" he asked.

"Couldn't spare us a warning, Silver?" Gary groused.

"Sorry, I dozed off myself..."

Leaf frowned and grabbed onto her armrest, trying to pull herself into a sitting position. She gritted her teeth; her medication had definitely worn off, and the pain in her lower abdomen had returned to its full intensity. She would need to ask Gary for more of those Aguav berry-based pills once they sorted themselves out.

"So, where are we exactly?" Misty asked with a yawn as she stood up with Pikachu in her arms. "Opelucid, right?"

Iris blinked and peered out her window.

"Yes, this is it," the Dragon-type trainer said. "We're at the Opelucid City airport."

"Wha-? The airport?" Kenny's eyes widened. "How'd they clear us? Did Winona set that up or something? I was thinkin' we were going to try to land in an open field..."

"What should we do then?" May asked. "There are a lot of people around airports, and we don't want to be tackled by a crowd asking how and why we're alive..."

Leaf's and Silver's gazes immediately connected, and they both seemed to have the same things on their minds. Leaf felt a stone drop into the pit of her stomach, and she elbowed Gary to the side so she could look out the window. She sucked in her breath and muttered a curse. Gary looked at her with raised eyebrows, alarmed.

"Well, _you're_ all staying on here." Leaf jerked her head away from the window and stumbled out into the aisle. She nearly lost her balance and had to grab onto Paul, who was standing across the way, to re-center herself.

"Leaf, what's happened?" Dawn asked as the agent continued her awful trip toward the front.

"Never mind that," Leaf replied brusquely. "Just stay here, be quiet, and let me take care of it."

She fell toward the door handle, grabbing onto it. She had to put some muscle into turning it down 90 degrees and opening the door. She paused to catch her breath, before sitting down on the edge and pushing herself onto the runway. Although the jump was considerably short since it was from such a small plane, the impact sent a shock wave up her ankles and through the rest of her body.

"Arceus, she's a liability." Paul shook his head.

"She's worth it," Gary said with a half-smile.

Agent Adalet and his ten or so cohorts stopped to watch her struggle to stand up. From her crouched position, she placed her hand on the concrete—cold to the touch—and pushed herself up, straightening out her legs. The wind had an icy bite to it, and while Leaf wasn't sure whether that was common for the area, she was tempted to think it wasn't.

"Well, I must say, Ms. Greene," Adalet began when they were leveled. "I think we all underestimated your abilities."

She didn't smile, and she brushed her billowing ashy brown hair out of her face. She noted that he had dropped her 'agent' title.

"But we also definitely overestimated your intelligence and loyalty," Adalet finished.

"Harsh," was all Leaf could say. Although she didn't let it show, that definitely had come as a hard blow. This was the part she had dreaded for so many months, from the very moment she decided to go to Mt. Silver. Although she had made tentative peace with the fact that her membership from the G-Men would likely be revoked, facing those repercussions was something she preferred to skip.

"Where's Lance?" she asked.

"Cleaning up your mess," Adalet responded. "He sent me to ensure you don't make another one."

"What do you intend to do?"

"We intend to keep you here until Lance does arrive. Your two-month joyride is over," Adalet replied simply. "Be warned, if any of of you try to defy us, there will be consequences."

Leaf smirked jaggedly.

"Do you honestly view us as that big of a threat?"

Ash came near the door, listening to the whole conversation with furrowed eyebrows. He felt his gut twist when he heard Adalet say that they planned to keep them trapped on the plane until the G-Men leaders arrived—and for what? So they could be 'safely' locked out of the action?

The boy felt a sliver of the freezing cold air pass through the door and by him. He tilted his head, looking toward the mountains where Iris had said Kyurem lived. A storm was brewing. He then knew what he had to do. As Misty said before: None of them were there to play it safe. They could wait no longer.

"Cilan!" Ash suddenly called back to the connoisseur. "Cilan, do you still have Winona's PokéNav?"

The connoisseur blinked, and the other trainers seemed similarly confused. They, too, had gathered near the door to watch the conversation between Leaf and Adalet unfold.

"Ah..." The connoisseur paused to fumble in his pockets, eventually pulling it out. "I-I'm sorry, I must have forgotten to return it..."

"Good. Keep holding on to it." He then ran back to his seat, snatched up his bag, and, looking toward the Pikachu on his shoulder, asked, "Pikachu, do you trust me?"

Pikachu tilted his head; he was just as befuddled as Ash's humans companions.

"Pika Pika."

'Of course,' he said.

"'Kay, then you just gotta listen to me and trust I know what I'm doing," Ash said before taking off toward front again.

"Ash! What are you doing?" Paul demanded as his old rival flew by him.

"Don't worry about it! I've got a plan!" he exclaimed. "It's gotta be all in or all out!"

"_Stop saying that_!"

Ash caught himself on the open door of the plane, drawing in the attention of the adult G-Men agents and Leaf. She looked at him with wide, perhaps even angry eyes, and the words 'stop' and 'go away' hung on her lips. He paid her no heed though, as he jerked his head toward Pikachu and said:

"Use Volt Tackle!"

Pikachu appeared shocked and clearly hesitant.

"_Trust me_!" he ordered more firmly, and the Electric-type nodded before leaping down and charging straight past Leaf and toward Agent Adalet. Adalet wasted no time; he whipped out one of his Pokéballs and called out his Steelix, ordering him to use Iron Tail.

The Iron Snake Pokémon prepared to slam its massive tail on top of the tiny Mouse Pokémon, and Pikachu's electricity fizzled out before he jumped to side, narrowly missing being crushed. Steelix left a deep imprint upon the concrete runway. Ash jumped off the plane, too, calling Pikachu back to him, though he pulled out another Pokéball, looking as though he were ready to continue.

"Ash!" Leaf called out in shock; she couldn't believe he had so brazenly attacked a G-Men agent. Such was actually punishable under the law. Yet, she instinctively reached for one of her own Pokéballs as well. Before she could grab one, however, another adult G-Men agent roughly grabbed her from behind and pushed his hand deep into her gut, quickly incapacitating her.

"Hey!" Gary fumed, jumping down and heading after Leaf. "Don't you _dare_ do that to her!"

He stopped short when a female agent's Bisharp jutted its sharp elbow toward him. Ash was similarly threatened by a Nidoking.

"I knew you were rash, but I didn't expect this foolishness!" Adalet spat, infuriated.

The trainers left behind in the plane looked on from the door, all completely dumbfounded by Ash's move. Adalet's Steelix let out a warning growl toward them, lest they act up, too. Silver gritted his teeth and furiously looked around for an exit; he deflated when realized there were none. He was within the G-Men's grasp too, now.

"Hey, hey, it's OK," Ash assured as an agent came at him with an extra set of handcuffs she carried with her. "I won't do anything more."

Leaf gasped in a pained breath as she looked up at the raven-haired boy. Yet, despite everything, he winked at her, and she could only stare back, utterly bewildered.

.

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	28. XXV: In Which Burgundy Takes A Call

.

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Chapter XXV: In Which Burgundy Takes A Call

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_**March 5th, 2002. Early Morning. Opelucid City.**_

There were a lot of questions running through Misty's mind; so many that she couldn't sort them out, and even if she could, she wouldn't be able to ask them. Instead, she sat rigidly beside Ash in the back of the police cruiser, feeling as though she were ready to burst at the seams and completely fall apart. It made her wonder how the others were doing. If she was one of the 'strong' ones, then how were they faring?

Ash was watching Misty carefully, and he was very much aware of how overwhelmed she was feeling at the moment. In fact, he was sure _everyone _felt the same after his show on the runway... but he made a bet, and that was a bet on their faith. They would be angry—at least, there would definitely be a demand for an explanation—but he trusted they would still follow his lead. He needed them to.

To say he wasn't nervous either would be a lie, though. A G-Men agent had taken Pikachu away from him, and even though there was the promise that he would be OK, the separation anxiety was starting to set in.

Ash's gaze flicked toward the front. Officer Jenny, who had been called to the scene by Agent Adalet, didn't seem to be paying attention. So, he discreetly reached out and grabbed Misty's hand with his.

She looked at him with wide eyes, and they pleaded for an answer. He grinned at her crookedly, a silent reassurance that everything would be OK. She breathed out and, using her free hand, brushed a piece of her red hair out of her face.

She then reciprocated his grip.

Hell or high water.

* * *

James's eyelids drooped and eventually fell, but Jessie elbowed him in the side, jolting him back awake. This had been happening back and forth between she, James, and Meowth for the past hour or so. They were all dead tired. They had spent so much time thinking last night, and thinking was a bad thing in Team Rocket. It made agents stay up all night and look bad in front of their bosses in the morning.

"How close are we?" Giovanni asked the driver. He was seated in the front with his Persian curled on his lap. The size of the Classy Cat Pokémon made the arrangement a little awkward, but the Team Rocket Boss would never leave behind his beloved Normal-type.

"Very, very soon," the driver replied. Another Team Rocket agent's Onix had carved out a makeshift road in the mountain late last night, after Kyurem's capture, purely so Giovanni would have easy access to the cave in which the Legendary Dragon resided. Suddenly, the said cave emerged in a bend around the mountain, and the vehicle headed straight into it. Cables with lights attached had been hastily hung from the walls to light the way.

Still, the dimness of the atmosphere made it even more difficult to stay awake, and the mutual elbowing and shoving and stomping on feet increased among the trio.

"What are you fools doing back there?" Giovanni snarled when he had enough of their startled grunts and movement.

"Nothing, sir," the three replied in unison.

Suddenly, the vehicle slowed to a complete stop, and Giovanni looked ahead and promptly had his breath taken away.

"Arceus," he swore in awe before opening the door, pushing Persian off his lap, and stepping out of the car. "It's _gorgeous_."

Jessie, James, and Meowth exchanged brief, confused glances before clumsily exiting the car, too. Then they say what had the Boss so enraptured. The massive Kyurem laid down on the ground, his uneven, jagged wings flattened and folded behind his back. His eyes were dark with sleep, and the blinking Meloetta-inspired device remained attached to his neck. Mewtwo and Moltres waited on either side of the Dragon-type, like obedient soldiers.

"He is just what I need," Giovanni continued, patting his hand on one of Kyurem's giant, icy claws. "His size certainly puts even a Wailord to shame, doesn't it?"

The arriving trio came up beside Pierce, whose gaze flicked toward them briefly with a frown but eventually returned toward Giovanni, who was growing increasingly delighted with his new toy. Jessie also noticed several other familiar faces in the crowd, including Butch and Cassidy. Cassidy felt her gaze and stuck her tongue out at her demeaningly.

Jessie scoffed and looked away. If the time were appropriate, she would have brought up the fact that the blonde and Biff or Bill or whatever his name was had to be hauled out of jail by Annie and Oakley. In fact, Jessie was partially amazed the duo had been transferred from Johto to Unova to work on this mission. Their capture, though hushed, was an embarrassment to the organization.

The esteemed leader then spun toward the forty or so agents that had gathered.

"Today is the day," he began proudly, "that we overtake the G-Men. Today is the day that we, the outcasts of society, get our reprieve. You, among many, were chosen to be here because of your loyalty to this organization and your contributions to this project. Sixteen years ago, a wonderful and loyal Team Rocket agent gave her life in her pursuit of the legendary Mew. Eight years later, Project Legendary began due to her work, and after another eight years, it will end today."

Several cheers and enthused claps emerged from the crowd. Jessie, James, and Meowth's reactions were delayed, but they came nevertheless.

"What do we do next, sir?" Pierce asked.

"I have already said this, Pierce," Giovanni began, his lips curling into a smirk. "We wait. We wait for the G-Men to come, because they will."

"Sir, Hutch and I could go to the airport and wait for their arrival," Cassidy spoke up. "We will send warning to you when they do."

"_Hutch_?" Butch whined. "Cassidy, it's-"

"-Ah, ambitiousness," Giovanni commended, cutting Butch off. "That is what I like in my top agents. Yes, that would be appropriate. You are excused to do so. Please keep close contact."

Cassidy beamed and sent another nasty look toward Jessie before heading off with Butch. Giovanni turned to admire Kyurem again, and the agents began to disperse to their own recreations. Jessie stood motionless for a long moment before approaching the armored Mewtwo. James and Meowth watched her apprehensively.

The Psychic-type towered at least a foot above her, and she might have been unnerved for that reason had she not known he wouldn't attack her unless Giovanni ordered it. She tried to see through the visor, to look at his expression, but it was simply too dark. There was no visible emotion in him; it was as though he were a statue, an object.

Jessie breathed in sharply and spun around to face James and Meowth again.

"Sixteen years ago," she began, speaking in a hurried tone, "my mother left me so she could attempt to capture Mew. She died. She died for the thing that would become Project Legendary. I won't let the same happen to me."

Kyurem's eyes began to glow again as he awakened, and he obediently rose up. Meloetta's demented song had worked its magic on him. Yet, the very last essence of himself burst from his core in a long, solemn cry.

* * *

Iris felt a cold pang in her heart, and she straightened up with a muted gasp. May, being the only person close enough to notice the almost unnoticeable change in the Dragon Master hopeful, cast her a concerned glance. Axew also sensed his trainer's discomfort and popped out of her hair to comfort her, which caught the officer at the collections desk in the Opelucid City Police Station off guard.

"Ma'am, I'm going to need you to turn over your Axew, too," he said, and Iris snapped out of her daze and looked at him with terrified eyes.

"No, no," she pleaded, grabbing her Axew off her shoulder and hugging him tightly. "He's still just a baby. He's been with me practically since he was born."

Her protest drew in the attention of all her peers, who were also in the process of turning in their Pokéballs and other items, as per the terms of solitary holding, where Adalet had ordered they be placed. No Pokémon were allowed in confinement; all of them had to be left at the collections desk. In fact, Pikachu was there waiting at the desk when they first arrived, though he was confined in a cage. It had taken every ounce of strength in Ash to not fall apart and begin attacking with his Pokémon again—this time seriously—when he saw his best friend locked up like that.

Ash, however, remembered that Pikachu had put his trust in him, and flying off the handle would be letting the Mouse Pokémon down. So he merely nodded toward the Electric-type, assuring him that all was still well.

"I'm sorry," the officer said, though he hardly sounded genuine, "but rules are rules."

Iris stood, mortified, but she eventually slowly nodded and, with shaking hands, gave him her Axew. The young Dragon-type immediately began fussing and crying for his trainer, but she could do nothing. Cilan looked at the officer with nothing sort of absolute disgust. He had not realized he was capable of hatred—he was far too gentlemanly for such a raw emotion—but in that moment, he swore that was his feeling.

"Is there anything else on you?" A second collections officer asked, directing the question toward Cilan. He looked toward her, and he became acutely aware of the pressure of Winona's PokéNav pressed up against his ankle. He had slid the device into his sock earlier, and his pant leg covered it. Ash was watching the connoisseur carefully.

"No, madam," he answered politely. "I gave you all three of my Pokémon."

Silver's eyes widened as realization dawned at him, and his eyes quickly passed from Ash to Cilan to Leaf.

Adalet suddenly swept into the room, standing directly in front of Silver.

"Are they ready?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," one of the officers replied.

Silver's eyes scanned the room to ensure no one was watching him. Then, he delicately reached out, pulled Adalet's wallet out of his back pocket, and slid it into the rim of his jeans without the agent noticing.

They didn't call him the silver-eyed thief for nothing.

* * *

Drayden felt the same awful chill run through his body, and he slowly exhaled. He was sitting among friends—other gym leaders and Elite Four members—in the Opelucid City Gym. The Unova elite had started gathering there since the early hours of the morning, and various members of the Hoenn elite had begun arriving in patches, too. Kanto, Johto, and Sinnoh, being much further from Unova, were behind. Still, anxiety hung in the air as they waited for the G-Men leadership to arrive. They understood they were to remain inactive until their Champions came to lead the charge.

"Drayden, are you all right?" Elesa asked the Dragon Master with concern.

His eyes flicked toward her.

"Yes," he answered simply, though it was a lie. He slowly rose to his feet. "I just realized there's a matter of business I must take care of."

"What business?"

"Never mind that," he dismissed. "I trust you'll take care of everything here for me."

Elesa blinked, slightly taken aback.

"Ah... yes."

Drayden then retrieved his Pokéballs and slipped out the room without much notice. One who did notice his leave, however, was Max Maple, as he sat between his parents, clutching his own sole Pokéball.

* * *

The slam of the heavy, metal door echoed throughout the room, bouncing off the yellowish walls. They were not placed in a cell, as some had imagined they would be. The room was carpeted, but disturbingly empty. A polished wooden desk was near the right side of the rectangular capacity, and several cushioned chairs lined the wall.

The click of the lock on the door, though, likened it to a prison anyway.

The important thing was that they were together. Ash's fear was that they would be split up, and he was relieved that had not been the case. This overlooked detail was not as comforting to his companions, however. As soon as they were alone, Leaf stumbled over to the desk and bent over it, lowering her face into her arms and groaning. It was unclear whether this was because of the physical pain that came with an agent pushing his hand into her gut, or because she was frustrated with their situation. Perhaps it was both.

After a brief silence, Drew turned to Ash with the one question on everyone's mind.

"OK, _what was that back there_?" he demanded.

Ash let on a half-smile.

"I know you're all probably mad..." he said, taking a step away from the group.

"Mm, yeah, a little bit," Trip added bitterly.

"I do have an explanation."

"Well, we're all ears." Gary seemed more tired than anything.

Ash paused, thinking how he could best explain himself without inciting any further anger from his peers.

"Believe it or not," he began. "I actually wanted this. I didn't tell Pikachu to go after Agent Adalet hoping that we'd have some grand escape. I knew they would take us into custody, and I hoped they would put us in a room just like this one."

This elicited several confused stares. Even Leaf lifted her head again.

"Why?" Zoey asked.

"Because _look_," Ash answered, gesturing to the area around him. "We're alone. When we were on the plane, Adalet and those other agents were watching us. We wouldn't be able to get out. No one's watching us now, though. Dawn, look out that window. Is anyone watching us?"

The blunette blinked, but she peered out the small 12-by-6 inches plexiglass window that was embedded in the locked door.

"Doesn't look like it..." she decided.

"I'm not sure what good that does, though," Ritchie commented. "We don't have our Pokémon with us anymore. Maybe we're not being watched, but there's no way we could possibly get ourselves out of here without them."

"We don't have to have our Pokémon," Ash replied confidently. "At least, not right now, 'cause we won't be the ones getting ourselves out. Cilan, you still have Winona's PokéNav, don't you?"

Cilan quickly nodded, reached down to pull the device out of his sock, and handed it over to Ash. Ash clutched it with a grin, and Iris (along with several others) looked at the connoisseur in surprise, unsure how he had managed to get it past the collections desk.

"You intend to call someone," Paul stated it as a fact.

"Yup."

"Who? Cilan's brothers? They could be hours away still. It might be too late for us by then," Paul continued.

"No. Not Cilan's brothers. I'm still counting on them to catch up to us later, though," Ash replied. "See, right before we landed, I decided to take a look at the website for Opelucid City, and I found out there's a Don George Tournament bein' hosted here right now."

"A _what_?" Kenny's face twisted in confused.

"The Don George family owns a string of battle clubs across Unova," Trip explained flatly, "and they hold tournaments in various cities all year round. I don't see how this is relevant, though."

"_Because_," Ash emphasized, "I looked at the entrant list, and they're here. Stephan, Burgundy, Georgia, Bianca, Luke, _they're all here_. They're in the city. Seeing that list, and hearing Adalet tell us how they were gonna make sure we didn't leave, that we didn't get to go to Kyurem and Mewtwo and Moltres, it made me think—" He paused briefly and turned toward Misty. "—made me think about what Misty said about how things are supposed to go wrong around me, but that there are people who are in my life, in my path, that are supposed to help set it right again."

Misty's chest tightened.

Ash continued, "But Silver also said something important—that these people are waiting for me to act, to take the lead. Well, I'm acting. I'm doing it. That's why I told Pikachu to use Volt Tackle, so we could be here and utilize the help of Stephen and Bianca and all of the others. I think they're here for a reason, in the same way you guys are here, and Ursula and Conway and Nando were here."

"You're banking on _those five_ breaking us out of jail?" Trip appalled.

"Well, yeah..."

"You're crazy."

"Yeah, but you're just as crazy as I am," Ash said with a twinkle in his eye, and Misty couldn't help but smile. He was back. "I mean, you honestly think I'm the Chosen One, and that's crazy. If you're crazy enough to believe that, then you're probably crazy enough to think this'll work."

Trip stared. Zoey let out a disbelieving laugh before looking over at the Nuvema trainer.

"Do you even have their numbers?" Trip finally asked.

"No, but..." Ash glanced toward Leaf, who had pushed herself back into a standing position while listening to Ash speak with intrigue. "That's what Leaf's for, right? She's a part of this whole connection. She's a G-Men agent, and the G-Men have access to this huge bank of trainer information and stuff, right? If we find Stephan's number and managed to get ahold of him, then I'm sure he'd be willing to help us."

Leaf's face fell, and for a moment, she swore she might cry. On one hand, she was touched he considered her a part of his circle. On the other hand, she could feel her heart breaking, knowing he had not understood the implications behind Adalet calling her 'Ms. Greene.' Yet, she couldn't bring herself to explain this, so she slowly rounded and held her hand out to Ash, expecting him to give her the PokéNav.

"That's true. There is a database office I can call," she said, though she sounded utterly dejected. Silver noticed this, and he pursed his lips. Everyone else seemed to pass it off as exhaustion and breathiness as a result of her injury.

She dialed and pressed the device to her ear. Ash was eagerly watching her.

"_You have reached the G-Men headquarters in the Indigo Plateau. Please state your business,_" a secretary's voice said formally after picking up.

"Hello, this is Agent Greene," she began. "I need to get a number for a trainer."

"_Could I gets your full name?_"

"Leaf Greene," she answered simply. "That's Leaf, as in the thing that grows on trees, and Greene, like the color, but with an extra 'e' on the end."

Silence followed. Leaf leaned against the desk, her free hand grasping the edge.

"._.. Could you give me your ID number?_"

Leaf dreaded this question. She had hoped by some miracle that it wouldn't come; that she hadn't been removed from the employment roll, that her name alone would get her through. The fact the secretary had to ask meant she wasn't there.

"012904," Leaf answered.

More silence. Then:

"_I'm sorry, Ms. Greene. It appears I cannot find you in our system._"

Leaf dropped the phone from her ear to her side, though she didn't hang up.

"I'm not in the system," she said simply.

"What?" May asked, blinking.

"I'm not in the system," Leaf repeated. "I've been removed."

For perhaps a minute or so, no one said anything. Leaf's eyes flicked downward, and Gary's gaze softened with sympathy. He knew this was exactly what she had striven to avoid. She wanted to support Ash in his role while also maintaining her membership in the government organization. To do both, as it turned out, was not possible.

"Leaf, I'm so sorry," Misty finally spoke up.

Silver frowned, deciding he'd had enough. He reached into his jeans, retrieved out Adalet's wallet, opened it up, and pulled out the agent's G-Men ID badge.

"I suspected something like this would happen," he said before tossing the ID onto the table. It slid a couple inches across the surface, and for a moment, everyone just stared at it. Leaf looked up at the silver-eyed boy, wanting to ask how he'd acquired it. Before she could however, Paul, in one fell swoop, plucked Winona's PokéNav out of Leaf's hands and brought it up to his ear.

"Hello, this is Agent Adalet speaking. Are you still there?" he asked without missing a beat.

Dawn's jaw nearly dropped, and most everyone else seemed similarly shocked.

"_Yes, sir._"

"I think there's been a bit of a mix-up. I'm not sure why Agent Greene is not in the system, but I'm fairly confident that I will be," Paul continued. His low voice was perfectly suited for the gruff male agent.

"_Can I get you to tell me your full name?_"

"Erol Adalet," Paul answered, picking up the badge and reading it. "That's E-R-O-L, A-D-A-L-E-T. My number is-"

"_-Ah yes, here you are. I'll patch you through._"

Paul then dropped the device slightly, his hand covering the receiver, when he saw the others trying to get his attention.

"Paul," Dawn began seriously, "impersonating a G-Men agent is, like, _mega_ illegal."

"So is attacking one, but we all seem to be OK with that now," the Veilstone trainer retorted before lifting the PokéNav again.

"_You've reached the records office for the G-Men. Who do you need to look up?_"

"I'm looking for the number of a trainer from the Unova region," Paul answered. "His name is..."

He looked toward Ash expectantly, and the raven-haired boy quickly straightened up.

"Oh! Um..." He paused tho think. "Is it Stephen or Stephan? I can't remember now."

"Are you serious?" Paul glowered at him.

"I'm pretty sure it's Stephen, Ash," Iris said.

"OK. Then we'll go with Stephen Dunstan," Ash conceded, though he still seemed a bit unsure.

"Stephen Dunstan," Paul parroted into the receiver. "That's..." He waited for Ash to begin mouthing the letters to him. "S-T-E-P-H-E-N, D-U-N-S-T-A-N."

Paul could hear the person on the other side furiously typing on a keyboard. The mauve-haired trainer turned and sat on the edge of the desk, waiting.

"_I'm sorry, I can't find any trainers with that exact name in the Unova region._"

Paul let out a frustrated breath, and he covered the receiver with his hand once again.

"He can't find anyone."

"What?" Ash seemed confused.

"The person on the other side of the line can't find anyone named Stephen Dunstan," Paul repeated more firmly.

"W-Well then we'll try Georgia!" Ash persisted.

"Ash, are you out of your mind?" Iris asked with a short laugh. "On what planet would Georgia _ever_ help us? She hates me, she's indifferent to you and Cilan, and I don't think she even knows Trip exists!"

"Well, it seems that's not unusual for Trip," Gary commented dryly, and the said Unova trainer let out a low growl.

"We've just gotta try." Ash was determined.

"All right, I have a second name then." Paul picked up the phone again. "It's Georgia..."

Ash bit his lip when Paul looked at him.

"What's her last name?" he muttered to himself frenetically. "What's her last name?"

"Hamilton," Trip interjected. "Georgia Hamilton. G-E-O-R-G-I-A, H-A-M-I-L-T-O-N."

Paul repeated the letters through the device and fell silent afterward. Ash crossed his fingers, hoping it would work.

"_Here she is. I'll send the call through immediately._"

Paul smirked.

"The phone is ringing," he said, holding out the phone toward Iris. Several happy breaths swept across the teens, and May let out a giggle.

"Paul, you're the best!" Barry exclaimed with a grin. "All your debts to me are officially waived. You deserve it, man!"

"W-wait," Iris began with a nervous chuckle. "You want _me_ to talk to her?"

"You're her rival, aren't you?" Paul asked.

"I just said a couple minutes ago that Georgia _does not_ like me."

"So?"

"_So_? Imagine if, one year ago, Ash called you asking you to bust him out of jail. Now imagine you believe he's been dead for two months"

Paul furrowed his eyebrows.

"Fair point." He then offered the PokéNav to Cilan. "Here, you have experience with this now. You talk to her."

Cilan didn't have time to protest; the phone had rung twice, so he fumbled for it and pressed it to his ear, waiting for the Dragon Buster to pick up.

* * *

Winona's mind was fuzzy in the oddest way possible. It felt as though she had some sort of sinus infection or head cold, but without the pain and runny nose. The past eight or so hours of her life were completely foggy to her, and she didn't like that at all.

Agent Adalet had been the one to draw her out of her trance, and he brought her to a private room within the Opelucid City Police Station.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, sliding a glass of water toward her.

"Just... strange," she mumbled, graciously accepting the water and taking a sip. "I'd like for it to never happen again."

"If it's any consolation, I imagine Leaf will be terminated for her insurrection."

"Leaf?" Winona blinked. "She's the girl who was injured, right?"

"That's right."

"She wasn't the one who hypnotized me," Winona corrected. "It was that boy with red hair and light gray eyes. Silver, I think his name is? I have a message from Wallace saved in my PokéNav telling me a little bit about him."

She pulled her bag up onto her lap and rummaged through it. After an extended search, however, she paused with a frown.

"Is something wrong?" Adalet inquired.

"My PokéNav is missing..."

Adalet lips tightened, bothered by this new discovery. He couldn't dwell on it long, however, as his own PokéNav began ringing. He excused himself to answer.

"This Erol Adalet speaking," he said.

"_Adalet_," Lance regarded. "_Are you available? I need you to take care of some new arrivals at the Opelucid City Airport._"

"I am available, as a matter of fact."

"_Are Leaf and the fourteen safe?_"

"They won't be causing trouble anymore."

"_O... K..._" Lance seemed suspicious, but he quickly moved on. "_As I was saying, I received word that a flight from Viridian City recently landed. I've been trying to contact Drayden to tell him, but he won't pick up._"

"I'll take care of it," Adalet said. "How far away are you and the Sinnoh elite now?"

"_Under two hours._"

"All right. We'll wait for you."

"_Thank you, agent._"

_**March 5th, 2002. Morning. Plane to Unova.**_

Cynthia didn't look up when her husband slid into the seat beside her—but she did have questions prepared.

"Did Lance manage to get in contact with Drayden?" she asked.

"No." Steven shook his head, "but he called Adalet, and he's going to take care of it."

Cynthia sighed and pressed a hand to her face before clumsily running her fingers through her hair.

"This isn't really coming well, together, is it?" she inquired.

"If nothing happens before we arrive, we'll be able to unify ourselves with the other elite," Steven assured her.

"Drayden's missing. Something's happening," she said point blank. Steven frowned and averted his gaze. He knew, in all likeliness, that she was right. He wasn't particularly familiar with Drayden, but he understood that while he was normally calm and level-headed, he had certain ticks—ticks that would cause him to act irrationally. In fact, it seemed to run in the family, from Drayden, to Lance, to Leaf.

"I put in a call to the G-Men headquarters at the Indigo Plateau," Steven started a new subject. "They released Chris early this morning."

"Well, I'm sure he's happy about that." The bitterness in her tone was subdued, as was nearly everything else about her. Steven sighed.

"Cyndi, what's bothering you?" he asked.

"I think you know, Steven."

"Emily?"

Cynthia's lack of response was a 'yes.'

"There's nothing we can do about it right now," Steven went on. "Emily will be OK. We know she is with authorities now. Her husband can't touch her anymore. Or are you thinking about what Lance said?"

"Both, I suppose," Cynthia answered.

"Don't let it bother you," Steven persisted. "Empathy is an amazing quality, and you are rife with it. Is that a weakness? Perhaps excess does place us in troubling situations, but lack does the same. You and Lance have both made mistakes in this regard. This will only make you a stronger leader and a better parent, and it will do the same for him."

Cynthia finally made eye contact. Steven smiled and reached for the curve of her belly.

_**March 5th, 2002. Morning. Opelucid City.**_

Georgia was not expecting to see her fellow trainers passively watching television in the Pokémon Center's lobby when she came downstairs that morning. Although the second round of battles for the Opelucid City Don George Tournament, Clubtastic, did not begin until noon, she figured most of them would be outside doing some last-minute training.

She took a bite out of her breakfast, an apple, before leaning her arms on the back of the sofa on which Burgundy and Bianca were seated. She was temped to roll her eyes when she realized to what station the television was turned. She was sick of the news.

"What are you doing watching this?" she groaned.

"As an aspiring Pokémon S-Class Connoisseuse, I need to be more socially aware," Burgundy said stiffly.

"Try B-Class before you even think about S-Class," Georgia scoffed before taking another bite of her apple. Nevertheless, she settled herself enough to see what had her peers so entranced.

"_Now, how credible do you think Emily McGonnigal's claim is, Jim_?" The anchor was sitting at a small table with two of the station's correspondents, a male and a female.

"_Oh, not credible, not credible at all._" He shook his head and adjusted his glasses. His shiny, brown hair was slicked to one side, and he was wearing a gray suit. He was precisely the type of pretentious, ignorant jerk Georgia loved to hate, and people like him were the reason she balked at televised news media. "_You see, Davidson, here we've got a battered woman who's lost her son and whose husband regularly beats her. You don't think it's possible that this poor woman invented this fantasy—this idea—that her only child, Trip, is actually alive to avoid dealing with reality. It seems like a typical thing for a mother or any woman in her situation."_

"Dear Mew," the Dragon Buster swore, latching onto Trip's name. She rounded the sofa and sat between her female competitors. "What happened? _When_ did it happen?"

"It broke last night," Luke answered plainly. His Zorua was on his lap, and he was petting her, almost therapeutically.

"Trip's dad got arrested for beating his mom," Stephan explained in further detail. "And his mom said something about Trip being alive, so it's all over the news today."

"Ugh." Georgia made a face. "That's awful. Why would they report on something like that?"

"Why wouldn't they?" Luke inquired.

"I don't know... I guess because there's something really distasteful about airing a family's dirty laundry like that," Georgia explained. She fiddled around with the Xtransciever on her wrist and pulled it off. It was a habit of hers play with her clothes or accessories when she was uncomfortable or otherwise displeased. "I mean, I didn't know Trip that well, but do you think he'd be OK having his name plastered all over the news like this? No one actually _cares_ about him or any of those other kids. It's just some big soap opera they sell to get higher ratings."

"I care," Bianca said in a half-whisper.

"Speak up, Bianca. No one can hear you when you're mumbling." Georgia's irritation trickled into her tone, and she dropped the Xtransciever onto the table with a sigh. The Dragon Buster's attitude upset the normally calm and bubbly Bianca.

"_I_ care," Bianca repeated more firmly, rising up. Her fists were clenched, and she was nearly shaking. "_I_ care, because my cousin died in that accident; because Cilan, Iris, and Ash, who were all really good friends to me, died in that accident. Sorry if you don't feel the same way."

She raised her hand to wipe away a stray tear before abruptly turning on her heel and running out of the room. Georgia let out a long breath as her face fell into her hand and guilt started to flood her consciousness.

"Nice going, Georgia," Stephan said. It was unusually bitter for the normally jolly and good-natured young man. Perhaps they'd all become a bit bitter since the accident, though.

"Shut up, Stephen."

"It's _Stephan_."

"Whatever. I'm going to go talk to her." Georgia stood again and briskly went after the blonde trainer. As she was headed out, her Xtransceiver began ringing.

"Hey Gia, you've got a phone call," Burgundy called after the Dragon Buster.

"You answer it," Georgia called back as she disappeared. "I'm busy at the moment."

Burgundy huffed, picked up the watch-like device and pressed the receive button. No video feed came through, which was mildly surprising. It meant someone was trying to contact Georgia via a regular telephone or a device like a PokéNav or PokéGear. Although newer versions of the technology had some video capabilities, they weren't compatible with the Unova-based Xtransceiver.

"Hello, this is the secretary for the world's most massive bitch," Burgundy greeted dryly. "How may I help you?"

"_Burgundy_?"

Burgundy's mouth dropped. Stephan and Luke were both shocked, too, to hear the familiar voice through the speaker phone.

"Cilan?!" she nearly screeched.

* * *

"Bianca!" Georgia rapped on the door to the bathroom, in which the Nuvema trainer had locked herself. "Bianca, I'm sorry. I didn't know about your cousin, and I didn't mean it in that way."

The blonde trainer remained silent on the other side. Georgia sighed and fell back against the door.

"I mean, it's not like I don't care," she said. "I was really upset when I found out about the crash—more upset than you'd think. It's really, really unnerving to realize people you competed with, battled against even, were just... gone. I'm just tired of hearing about it on the news, because then I get upset all over again."

"Georgia!"

The Dragon Buster looked cross when she heard her name called, and she turned to see Burgundy stumbling toward her.

"What do _you_ want?" she groused. "I am trying to be sentimental and comforting right now."

"Y-You..." Burgundy paused to swallow. Her face was pale, and this elicited some concern from Georgia. "You really need to listen."

The connoisseuse held out the Xtransceiver, and Georgia looked at her doubtfully before accepting the device, holding it up on her open palm.

"Why? Who-"

"_Georgia? Is that you?_"

The magenta-haired girl breathed in sharply. She could recognize that voice anywhere.

"Cilan? You're _alive_? Wha- This better not be some cruel joke!" Georgia's voice suddenly took a low, warning turn.

"_It's not. Georgia_-"

"Arceus, so what Trip's mom said is true?" Georgia asked. "Is Trip alive, too? Iris? Ash? Are all of the fourteen alive?"

"_I don't know anything about... that._" Cilan seemed strangely careful to avoid mentioning Trip's mother. "_But yes, we are all alive. I can switch to speaker phone if you'd like proof of that."_

"Please do," Georgia hissed. "I'd like to talk to Iris."

There was some fumbling on the other side of the line, and in the meantime, Stephan and Luke came running in to see what was happening. They were just as bewildered by the notion that the fourteen were actually alive as anyone else, perhaps moreso because they were closer with Ash, Cilan, and Iris than either Georgia or Burgundy. At least, their relationships with the trio were more _positive_.

"_Hi Georgia_." Iris seemed a tad bit nervous.

"You better have a good explanation for this, Ms. Dragon Master," Georgia seethed.

"_I do! I really do! It's a really long story, though, and we're tight on time. Actually, we need your help. We're in a bit of a situation..._"

"What situation?" Stephan finally spoke up.

"_Stephen_!" Ash's voice broke in. "_Is that you_?"

"Er... it's Stephan. But yeah, it's me!" Stephan grinned. "Good to see ya—uh, hear ya—again, Ash!"

"Hey, this is my conversation!" Georgia elbowed him in the gut. "Butt out!"

"_Who is there with you, Georgia_?" Cilan asked. "_Stephan and Burgundy and... ? At least, I'm fairly certain it's Burgundy. She presented herself as your secretary when she picked up the phone_."

Burgundy's skin tone went from pale to red, and she buried her face in her hands with embarrassment. Only now did the humiliation of saying an unsavory word in front of another connoisseur (her dreadful rival, Cilan, no less) dawn on her. Such language was unbecoming of an aspiring S-Class, and Cilan certainly understood that.

"Luke's here," Georgia answered. "And so is Bianca, through a two-inch wooden door."

"_What is that supposed to mean..._ ?" they could hear Trip mumble.

"Ey, Trip! Good to hear ya, too!" Stephan's grin widened.

"Stephen! What did I just say about this being my phone call?" Georgia snapped.

"Sorry." Stephan hung his head. "... And it's Stephan."

"_This has gotten way off-topic_," an unfamiliar voice interjected.

"_Misty's right_," Ash agreed.

"_Yeah..._" Iris trailed off. "_Like I said, we're, um, in a bit of a bind, and we need your help. We need all of your help._"

"How?"

"_We've... kind of been arrested._"

"What? Why- OK, hold up, slow down there." Georgia let out an anxious chuckle. She didn't know how else to react to the situation. It was all happening so fast, and she was still reeling. "I can tell you already that I am _not _going to bail you out of jail. Nu-uh. Sorry. Nope. You can't just waltz into my life again with an out-of-the-blue phone call and expect me to help you guys."

"How'd you get arrested anyway?" Luke asked, clutching his Zorua.

"_Look, we'll explain all this to you in due time, but we seriously are in a rush right now_," Iris persisted. "_Kyurem has been captured by Team Rocket, and we've got to help him. We don't want you to bail us out of jail. We want you to break us out_."

"Kyurem? You mean the legendary Dragon-type?" Stephan asked.

"_That's the one_!" Ash affirmed. "_And he's in big trouble, and he needs us._"

"Why do _you_ have to be the ones to help him?" Burgundy snarked.

"_It really is a long story..._"

Georgia let out a short, disbelieving laugh.

"Well, I don't want to hear it. Sorry, but I think you're insane."

"_Please Georgia_," Iris pleaded. "_I'll be forever in your debt if you do_."

"I'll pass. Thanks for the consideration, but sorry not sorry, no can do."

"_Georgia_!-"

The Dragon Buster ended the call before Iris could say anything further, and Stephan and Luke looked at her, appalled.

"What the heck did'ja do that for?" Luke asked with a frown.

"Luke, they were asking us to break them out of jail without much explanation," Georgia replied, exasperated. "Any reasonable-minded person would say 'no.'"

"Well, maybe we're not reasonable," Stephan retorted.

"I could see that..." Burgundy muttered.

"Yeah, it's a bit crazy, but-" Luke began, before Georgia cut him.

"It's a _lot_ crazy," she insisted, and Luke glowered at her before continuing.

"_But_, at the same time, how crazy is it that those guys are alive? It's something else! Somethin' you'd watch in a movie or read in a book! And the heroes always need their trusty friends to fall back on when they're in trouble, and that's us!"

"This isn't one of your films, Luke," Burgundy pointed out.

"Well, maybe you don't wanna help 'em, but Luke and I do!" Stephan added.

"Yeah!" Luke rallied with him.

"_Me too_," Bianca's muted agreement emerged from the other side of the bathroom door, and the four glanced her way as she slipped out. Her eyes were red and puffy, but she seemed determined. "I want to help, too."

"All right!" Stephan pumped his fist, before looking back at Burgundy and Georgia. "'Course, it'd still be helpful if you two joined us..."

Burgundy seemed wholly unsure, and Georgia's wasn't quite ready to let her stubbornness break.

"Fine then. Let's get goin', B," Stephan continued, gesturing for Bianca to follow. She let out a giddy laugh and quickly scampered after him and Luke as they headed off. Georgia huffed and looked at Burgundy, who was already watching her expectantly.

That did it.

"I can't believe this," Georgia grumbled. "Let's go, too."

* * *

After a ten-minute walk back through the dimly lit tunnel, Jessie, James, and Meowth made it back outside. Jessie needed a moment to breathe and gather herself, and her partners went with her to ensure she wouldn't do anything rash. Moreover, Kyurem's cave was nothing short of _freezing_, and while the temperatures weren't much better elsewhere, the sun's rays helped warm the air, even if just a little.

"Man, dat Kyurem is sumtin' else, in't it?" Meowth tried to strike up conversation. "Makes my hair stand on edge. Doesn't quite gimme da creeps like Mewtwo, though..."

"_Meowth_!" James glared at the cat-like Pokémon. Mewtwo was not a good topic to discuss with Jessie around.

"Yeah..." Jessie seemed to halfheartedly agree. "It bothers me, too."

"Jessie..." James recognized that his companion had been in a funk ever since last night. He had been, too, but she seemed especially affected. It disturbed James, because she'd always been the more 'loyal,' the more 'focused,' the more 'tough' one of the bunch. He, well, he was just along for the ride at that point. He had no plans of leaving Team Rocket with Jessie unwilling to break ties, but if she was on the brink of breaking down... what did that mean for himself and Meowth?

James might have brought this up with Jessie then, asking her what she wanted from him, what she wanted him to do. The three were alone. There was no one they could trust more than each other, so they could speak freely if they wanted. There was no need for their self-imposed rules about thinking and talking about being the 'good guys.' _Might have_, because from out of nowhere, a powerful blast of fire came from above, and James, being the first to notice it, tackled Jessie and Meowth into safety.

There was hardly any time for James to turn his neck and see their attacker—a snowy-haired man and his Salamence—as the elderly trainer fiercely ordered the Dragon-type to use Hyper Beam.

"W-Wait!" James staggered to his feet, frantically waving his arms. "Don't attack! Don't attack! We mean no harm!"

The trainer paused and gestured for his Salamence to hold off, though he seemed no less wary or even angry.

"No harm?" he thundered. "_No harm_? Is it true you're Team Rocket members?"

"Well, yeah..."

"And is it true Team Rocket captured Kyurem?"

"That's true, too, but..."

"But we're not in support of Team Rocket any longer," Jessie boldly said, standing up and brushing herself off.

"Jessie!" Meowth gasped. "Where's dis comin' from?"

"You honestly didn't expect this after yesterday?" she scoffed.

"I know last night was bad, but we've had bad nights before where we've wondered why we're still in Team Rocket... but we're always back at it the next day!" Meowth persisted.

"Not this time." Jessie vigorously shook her head. "I don't want to be another 'martyr' like my mother, like Archer, like Proton. If the Boss wasn't loyal to Domino and Petrel, then why should I be loyal to him?"

"Jessie, you know da penalty for betrayal is death!" Meowth panicked.

"So what?" Jessie scoffed. "It's either be killed by Team Rocket or this guy right here!" She made a gesture toward Drayden. "And if I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die on the right side."

Drayden furrowed his eyebrows and exchanged a mildly confused glance with his Salamence, but he said nothing.

"You know what, Jessie," James began, scared but still determined. "I'm with you. Let's do it. Let's be the good guys."

The two then turned two Meowth, who was looking back at them with wide eyes.

"All right," the Scratch Cat Pokémon gave in with a sigh and tired smile. "Count me in, too. We're in dis together, right? We always have been."

"Right!" Jessie and James said in unison.

"If you three have figured yourselves out," Drayden cut in gruffly, "then I would like to remind you that I am still here."

"Well, since we're good guys now, we'll help!" James insisted with a goofy grin. "Whad'ya need from us? What are you intending to do?"

"Raise hell," Drayden replied flatly. He seemed suspicious of their antics. They had seesawed from 'bad guys' to 'good guys' in a matter of seconds, and that was worth concern. "I don't want your assistance for that."

"You'll die without it," Jessie warned. "Mewtwo and Moltres are under the Boss's full control—and he'll use them to wipe out anyone who dares defy him."

"Which, uh, I guess includes us now if he finds out we're telling you this." James let out a nervous laugh. Suddenly, the prospect of dying—whether on the right side or not—didn't seem so fancy or heroic.

"Mewtwo and Moltres is not my concern. It's Kyurem I'm after."

"Same dealio, Mr. White Beard," Meowth piped up. "Kyurem is also under the Boss's control now. Ya wanna free 'em, you'll have to tackle the big ol' device attached to his neck."

Drayden frowned, but he concluded that as silly as their sudden change of heart seemed, it was genuine. The reveal of sensitive information attested to that.

"I'll have to take that risk." Drayden turned away and gestured for his Salamence to do the same. "If you're afraid of death, then I suggest you leave now. Because I'm not."

"W-We're not afraid. We're good guys again!"

"Being good doesn't mean you're not afraid," Drayden growled. "Leave. You'll only serve as a distraction."

Drayden then turned and began heading into the cave.

"Distractions are what we're best at!" James called after him, but Drayden didn't look back.

"Dis is for da better James," Meowth assured him. "We wanna start anew, we gotta go now."

"The Boss probably won't even miss us," Jessie added in agreement, "if he doesn't miss his other agents."

James frowned but nodded as he began following his companions. Another roar of Kyurem's could be heard from the depths of the cave.

* * *

"OK, it seems we need a plan B," Zoey sighed. After Georgia's initial hang-up, their multiple attempts to call her again went ignored, and the group was starting to grow antsy again.

"Well, maybe now we really should consider trying to call Cilan's brothers..." Dawn suggested. "It's been another hour. Do you think they could be to Opelucid City by now?"

"It's not a matter of whether they could be at Opelucid or not," Cilan corrected. "If they were driving straight from Striaton City to Opelucid City, they would have been here hours ago. They went to White Forest looking for Meloetta, though, and who knows how long that took or even whether they have her yet?"

"So it's a stretch," Gary conceded. "We should still try."

"We could also wait for Lance," Leaf added.

"Oh? And what good will that do?" Silver scoffed. "I thought Lance sent Adalet to put an end to our little adventure, which, I might add, he very successfully did."

"I don't know..." Leaf trailed off. "I'm not so sure. Adalet has been hostile toward me since we first met. In fact—and some of you probably picked up on this the night we left—my involvement in this case was a point of contention for him and Lance. He didn't think I should be with you guys, and he made that pretty clear."

"Is it any surprise it's contentious, though?" Ritchie asked. "Especially now, all things considered..."

"That's my point exactly," Leaf persisted. "This a charged case for him and I. I'm now wondering if any bias leaked in, and he ended up unintentionally baiting us. Maybe the reality of the situation is different with Lance."

"Leaf, the reality is that you were slashed from the G-Men's employment roll," Silver sighed. "You're clinging to fantasy again. Stop that."

"Silver..." Ash gently pleaded with a frown.

"No, it's all right, Ash," Leaf cut back in. "I suppose I just want to trust that... anyway, let's call Cilan's brothers."

The connoisseur let out a tired sigh as he swept up Winona's PokéNav, preparing to dial her number. However, the click of the lock on the door caused him to quickly shuffled the device away into hiding. The door swung open, and there stood Officer Jenny with a rather placid smile on her face.

"Officer Jenny!" May exclaimed in surprise. "Is... something wrong?"

Jenny shook her head, but gestured that they all should follow. Several confused glances were exchanged, but they ventured ahead anyway, one by one. Leaf was the last to leave the room. Her mind was heavy with thought, and it caused her head to hang.

_**September 23rd, 1999. Late Evening. Indigo Plateau.**_

Drayden intimidated Leaf.

He was never unkind to her, of course. He was simply aloof, distant, maybe even a bit coarse. It was funny, in a way, since Lance was quite similar—scarily similar—but Leaf didn't find herself feeling so small around him. The familiarity of her relationship with Lance, however, simply came with time. Looking back, she realized she found him just as frightening when they first met.

Drayden only came around so often, however. The trip from Unova was a long one, and he had duties to attend to as the Opelucid City Gym Leader. On the flip side, Lance was so occupied with the G-Men and his responsibilities as the Indigo Champion that he rarely had time for visitors. In short, she simply didn't know the elder Grayson that well.

Every time he did come to the Indigo Plateau, however, he left an impression on her, even if just with a few words or a look in his eyes. It was awe-inspiring how deeply his succinctness could affect her. Their first meeting, in particular, had stuck with her.

"Father," Lance had begun simply, politely, "this is my student, Leaf."

Drayden's gaze flicked toward her, and Leaf straightened up with wide eyes.

"A student?" he inquired. "I wouldn't have expected that already, Lance. Tell me, Leaf, are you also an aspiring Dragon Master?"

"Ah... no sir." Leaf stumbled over her words. "I have a mixed team of Pokémon."

"I see," Drayden mused. "Interesting..."

It wasn't in any way demeaning or judgmental, but an important realization hit Leaf at that very moment. Lance came from a long line of Dragon Masters. Everyone in his family specialized in Dragon-types; Lance and Clair had been trained by Drayden to use Dragon-types, Drayden had been trained by his parents, and his parents had been trained by their parents. Their history was rooted in the Unova region's mystic Village of Dragons, and it was Leaf's understanding that Lance's paternal grandmother was the village matriarch.

The fact Lance had chosen to mentor Leaf when she didn't even own a single Dragon-type Pokémon, therefore, was quite odd. It was even more befuddling when she realized he had never pushed her to specialize, nor had he asked her to catch a Dragon-type. He worked with her for what she was, and that was unique.

For many years, she never understood why, and she never asked. It wasn't until a later visit from Drayden that she even began to grasp a possible reason.

Leaf had gone for bed, leaving Lance and Drayden alone in the Indigo Champion's office. However, it wasn't until she reached her room and flicked on the light that she was missing something: her book. Reading helped put her to sleep at night, but she had left her newest book, a gift from Lance, on the chair she usually occupied in his office.

Without a second thought, she went back to retrieve it. Yet, as she approached the now-closed door, she could hear Drayden and Lance's voices on the other side, and they were in the middle of an argument. Leaf stopped, furrowing her eyebrows before leaning toward the door to listen.

"I would implore you to be careful, Lance," Drayden warned. "You must be able to find a balance, or you will regret it. It will hurt her, and that, in turn, will hurt you."

"I don't understand what the problem is," Lance sighed, frustrated.

"Answer me this, then," Drayden pressed, "are you her Champion mentor, or are you her parent?"

Leaf blinked in surprised and leaned away from the door. She didn't think it was possible, but were they... talking about _her_? If so, the question seemed very strange. What exactly did Drayden mean by 'Champion mentor'? And wherever did he inherit the notion that Lance was her parent? These questioned only served to intensify Leaf's intrigue, and she leaned closer to the door, anticipating Lance's answer.

"Is it too much to ask to be both?"

Silence followed.

"Lance," Drayden began seriously, "do not make the same mistake that I did with you."

_**March 5th, 2002. Morning. Opelucid City.**_

"After him!" Giovanni cried angrily as Drayden's Salamence rose into the air with his trainer on his back. The control device that was formerly attached to Kyurem's neck under the gym leader's arm. The edges of the machine were tainted with dry blood; Salamence's Hyper Beam had been unable to destroy it (thanks to the genius of Dr. Zager), but the Dragon Master had improvised and flew up to tear the embedded device from the Legendary's neck with his bare hands.

Yet, the pain that came with the ripping of scales, in addition to the sudden freedom, sent Kyurem into a rampage, and he tore out of his cave before anyone could possibly think of stopping him.

Drayden, however, was easier to stop, and doing so was also necessary. They would need the control device to recapture Kyurem.

Mewtwo wasted no time. He sent a Shadow Ball toward Drayden, knocking him squarely in the chest and off his Salamence. He fell quite a ways and hit the ground with a painful 'thud.' Moltres then sent a Fire Blast toward the Dragon Master, but Salamence swept in and used Hydro Pump in retaliation. The forces of fire and water canceled each other out, and it gave Drayden enough time to climb back onto Salamence.

Moltres took flight to chase after the elderly trainer and his Salamence, and Mewtwo was soon to follow before his Master called him back.

"No!" Giovanni said fiercely. "Mewtwo, I need you to stay and be safe for now."

* * *

"Man, Opelucid sure is different from Striaton City," Chili mused aloud as he leaned his head against the car's window. "All these tall, white buildings... Striaton's downright colorful in comparison."

Meloetta, who was sitting on the Fire-type specialist's lap, glanced up at him curiously before also peering out the window. She tilted her head and pressed her white, rounded hand to her face as she, too, became enraptured by the towering white-brick buildings.

"Oh, that's right, Meloetta," Cress, who was now driving, interjected. "You've never been to the city, have you? At least, we've read that you prefer to stay away from human civilization..."

"Etta." Meloetta nodded.

"'Course, humans aren't all that bad," Chili added, "I mean, yeah, there is that whole thing with Team Rocket capturing Mewtwo, Moltres, and Kyurem... but you're gonna help us fix that with your song, aren't you?"

"Et etta!" She looked determined.

"And since you seem to like the Rockin' Raikou so much," Chili pressed onward, "maybe after all this straightened and the world's in order again, we can go see a concert together!"

Meloetta seemed delighted by the idea, and Cress quirked an eyebrow before letting out a short laugh. The idea of such a delicate, little Pokémon at a loud, crowded rock concert rubbed him funny. The amusement of his imagination came to a quick halt as a loud, angry roar in the distance caught him off guard. He looked ahead and felt his breath leave him as the massive Kyurem emerged from near the top of the mountain.

Cress pulled off to the side of the road, set the gear into park, and opened up his car door to step outside and get a better look. Chili did the same, with one foot in the car and one foot out. He rose with Meloetta in his arms.

"Is that... ?" Chili began in awe.

"Yeah, that's him," Cress replied, anticipating his question. "That's Kyurem."

Meloetta trembled as she clung to Chili's chest. The redhead looked down at the Psychic-type before snapping his head toward his brother.

"We've gotta find Cilan and the others, quick," he breathed.

* * *

The confusion among the group of trainers intensified as the Officer Jenny lead them back to the collection's desk and gestured for the officers manning the desk to release their Pokémon. The collections officers seemed just as baffled, and they spoke up in mild protest.

"Are... Are you sure about this Officer Jenny?" the female collections officer asked. "Agent Adalet was pretty specific about this..."

Officer Jenny nodded again, and the collections officers exchanged glances with a frown, but they headed into the back room to retrieve the Pokémon they had in holding anyway. Iris let out a delighted trill as her Axew came back to her, and she was quick to grab the Dragon-type away from the collections officer and hug him tightly.

"Oh Axew!" she cried. "I'm so sorry that had to happen! But I'm here now!"

Other trainers were similarly relieved or happy to have their Pokémon returned to them. Dawn even unexpectedly let her Piplup out of his Pokéball and gathered him up in her arms. She had started keeping the Water-type in his Pokéball more since the incident in Silver City—they didn't want to risk stirring up trouble like that again—but the brief separation had made her realize how much she missed constantly carrying him around.

Pikachu was the last to be delivered to his trainer, and the Electric-type grinned upon seeing Ash again.

"Pikachu!" The raven-haired boy happily exclaimed as the yellow Pokémon hopped onto his shoulder, where he belonged. "See? I told'ja everything would be all right."

"It's not all right, though. Something's off," Trip muttered to Ritchie. "Officer Jenny wouldn't..." He stopped short, inhaling sharply when he caught sight of a tiny black puff of fur on Officer Jenny's backside.

"Wouldn't what?" Ritchie whispered back.

"Hey!" Everyone's heads whipped around to see another Officer Jenny standing at the door, a look of shock on her face as she noticed the freed trainers and her duplicate. "Why are you all out here? And which Officer Jenny are you? I'll have you know this is my division, and-"

"-Dewott, use Water Pulse!" The ringed blast of water came suddenly, and it threw Officer Jenny against the wall and knocked her unconscious. The trainer behind the attack bit her lip when she saw the damage. She had not intended for her Dewott to be so brutal. Then, she swiftly turned toward Cilan and jammed a finger into his chest, growling:

"I better not lose my hard-earned connoisseur license over this! I swear, if you report me to the Pokémon Connoisseur Association, my need for revenge against you will double twofold! It already has since finding out you lied about dying!"

Cilan stared at her in shock for a moment. Then, he melted into a smile.

"Of course not!" he assured her. "Burgundy, thank you!"

"You guys _came_?" Iris was shocked, but nevertheless very happy by this turn of events as Georgia, Stephan, Luke, and Bianca skidded onto the scene.

"Yeah, you better believe we came," Georgia scoffed with a hand on her hip. "I'd like your eternal debt to me now."

"'Course, it was all my idea," Stephan added, rubbing the back of his head with a grin. "Your plan of rescue, I mean."

"It was still my phone call!" Georgia retorted.

"Our rescue?" Ash was practically starry-eyed. He had bet right.

"Yeah!" Luke excitedly affirmed. "Well, unfortunately, it could only last for so long..."

He looked toward the Officer Jenny that was still standing. She let out a fiendish giggle and jumped up, transforming back into her normal form: Zorua.

"Wh-What's the meaning of this!?" the male collections officer stammered angrily, and Bianca was quick to step up to the plate.

"Petlil," she said, looking at the small Grass-type in her arms, "use Sleep Powder on those two meanies!"

"Lil!" Petlil jumped forward onto the desk and sprayed her bluish pollen on them up-close, so there was no chance of escape, and so no one else could be impacted by its effects. The two collections officers slumped to the ground in a deep sleep.

"Bianca!" Barry happily cried, and she turned back toward him, beaming.

"Barry!" She practically tacked him with a hug, but he wasn't the least bit caught of guard, and he picked her up and swung her around once.

"Wait, you two know each other?" Iris asked with eyebrows raised.

"Yeah!" Barry answered. "We're cousins! Don'cha see the resemblance?"

Ash scrunched up his face, looking over the two carefully.

"No, actually," he concluded. Drew gave him a disbelieving look.

"You're joking, right?" he dryly asked.

The conversation was cut short by the echoes of an angry roar, which could be heard even inside the police station. Iris's throat tightened, and she held Axew closer to her.

"We can discuss this later," Gary said sharply. "It sounds like there's trouble."

* * *

Elesa was quick to jerk Flannery and Skyla with her into an alleyway as Kyurem launched an Ice Beam through the path in which they had stood, creating a thick sheet of ice on the white stone road. When the gathered elite heard the roar of the legendary Dragon-type, they quickly sprung into action—completely and embarrassingly disorganized action. The understanding was they were not to act unless Team Rocket acted first, and Kyurem's rage was perceived as an attack.

Yet, there was no consolidation, no plan of attack among them, because one had not been formed. So, they ended up splitting into factions when the situation turned chaotic.

"Macargo, use Flamethrower on that ice!" Flannery ordered after calling out her Fire-type. Once the slippery ice melted into cold puddles of water, the three gym leaders skidded back out into the street, watching Kyurem as he flew away.

"So what's our plan?" Skyla asked. Kyurem flew a little too low, and his tail damaged the black slate on a roof. The women winced.

"Stop Kyurem from destroying the city," the Nimbasa City native answered shortly, pulling out a Pokéball of her own.

"That's not much of a plan." Flannery frowned.

"That's because I came up with it in less than two minutes."

"Elesa, we don't even have _half_ the number of trainers here as we did the Hoenn base." Skyla's voice shook as she spoke. "And we weren't up against Legendary Pokémon then."

"Well, what you suggest then, Skyla?" Elesa retorted, frustrated. "We can't just idly stand by and watch, even if Drayden's missing and the G-Men leadership hasn't arrived yet."

The Electric-type specialist was so intensely focused on her companions that she didn't notice that another presence was heading toward them. Moltres launched a Flame Spin at the trio, and they didn't have a prayer of dodging.

"Altaria, use DragonBreath to intercept that Fire Spin!" The collision of elements blew up the area with smoke, and Moltres quickly moved on. His interest was not specific to the band of gym leaders. Elesa lowered her arm to see whom their savior was.

Winona jumped off her Altaria once they got close to the ground, and she gave her fellow trainers a tired salute. Above her head, in the distance, Elesa could see the belly of a Salamence. Moltres appeared to be in pursuit.

"Arceus, Drayden," she muttered. "What did you _do_?"

* * *

Delia Ketchum clutched her heart as she watched Kyurem soar into the sky from the window of the airport terminal. Although they were several miles away from the mountain overlooking Opelucid, the beastly form of the Dragon-type remained distinct, even in the distance. She felt sick to her stomach as her mind wandered to Ash and his father, and wondered if she had said something when her then-boyfriend Giovanni revealed he would take his mother's place as the leader of Team Rocket, if this would have never happened.

She didn't, though. She was too weak, too afraid, too concerned about the welfare of her unborn son that she remained silent for nearly 15 years. Now her son would have to fix her mistakes; there were many who needed to fix the mistakes of those who came before them.

"Adalet!"

Delia turned her head when she heard Brandon call the name. He was storming toward the arriving agent.

"That's your name, isn't it? Do you see this?" The Pyramid King gestured out the window. "What's happened? Has Giovanni ordered an attack? If so, then where are Mewtwo and Moltres?"

"I don't know," Adalet growled in response. "This is a developing issue for me, too. Kyurem only now just emerged, and I can't tell what he's doing or what anyone else is doing because I'm in charge of several things at once it seems, Drayden isn't picking up, and Lance still isn't here."

"Kyurem's behavior is very clearly belligerent," Professor Oak spoke up as he observed the Dragon-type from afar. "He's angry. I don't think this is the attack of a domesticated Legendary Pokémon under the control of Team Rocket. This is a wild Pokémon that's escaped."

"_How_?"

"No time for speculation," Brandon persisted. "What's the plan?"

"There is no plan. The G-Men were supposed to formulate it as they and the Sinnoh elite flew here while the rest of us gathered and prepared for their lead."

"OK, well that does us no good," Brock let out a frustrated sigh.

"It simply means we're on our own," Solidad said. She remained even-headed, even in crisis. "Where are the children?"

"Out of the way," Adalet answered.

"It was my impression that Lance condoned their participation," Solidad replied calmly, though firmly. "We need all the manpower we can get anyway, if we're missing the Sinnoh elite and chunks of the Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn elite still."

"Well, _I_ do not condone their participation," Adalet retorted. "I'm sure a parent would agree."

Delia looked at the agent with wide eyes, realizing this was in direct reference to her. Before she could answer, Adalet's PokéNav rang again and he swiftly picked it up.

"What?" he snapped into the receiver. He remained silent for several long moments, listening. Then, his eyes widened. "They _escaped_?"

Delia's lips curved into a crooked smile.

"Well, my Ash always has been determined..." she said, almost ironically.

_**July 10th, 1997. Late Afternoon. Pallet Town.**_

At a young age, Delia Ketchum's father walked out on her and her mother, and they never saw—or heard from—him again. At least, not alive. She was too little to understand at the time, but as she grew into her teenage years, speckles of her parents' story began to light up the fogginess in her head.

Professor Oak was her teacher. He was everyone's teacher, including his own son, Jon Oak, and his would-be wife, Melissa Beach. They were her best friends; rather, they were her only friends, since no one else her age lived in such a small town. They were good to her, but Delia understood well that she was a third wheel. Delia was absentminded, clumsy; Jon and Melissa were bright and eloquent. Even though the two argued often and exchanged banter like it was a game of volleyball, everyone could see they were perfect for each other.

It was from those two that she learned about her father—not because they told her, but because she asked. Delia's own mother wouldn't talk about it, and as Delia grew older, the question of her family began to gnaw at her, and she turned to her friends for help. They knew more than she would have expected.

Scandal simmered in a place as small as Pallet, and there were rumors that Delia's father had belonged to Team Rocket. He met her mother when they were teenagers, and she got pregnant at 17. They quickly married, but he grew tired and returned to his duties, and her mother never could file for divorce. They both still carried his name, Ketchum, as a reminder of what he had left behind.

Rumors were just rumors, though—or so they said. Once Delia had heard the story, she became more suspicious, more aware of the sympathetic glances, of the whispers behind her back. Delia knew for sure the rumors were true when the police from the nearby Viridian City showed up on her family's doorstep one evening, informing her mother that he had been shot and killed in a run-in with the law. Her mother did not accept the body, and no funeral was held.

The whispering intensified after the incident, and Delia knew more than ever she needed to get out. At 18-years-old, she went to Viridian City to try to make a life for herself. She abandoned her father's defunct surname and adopted her mother's, Taylor. It was in that city, that new life, that she met Giovanni.

For her, it was love at first sight. He was charming, charming, charming, and he had her enraptured the moment his lips curved into his arrogant though still handsome smirk and he opened his mouth to speak. She used to think Jon was the smartest person she would ever meet. Within five minutes, Giovanni had debunked that myth of her mind.

Moreover, the fact that he was nothing like cookie cutter of a nice, clean-cut boy like the ones she had met in her hometown drew her to him. He was enigmatic, jaded. He understood the meaning of being an outcast, or so he claimed.

There were signs. She ignored them, because she was so blinded by her own infatuation. There were some things he said that scared her; things that opposed everything she had learned as a child from her mother and Professor Oak. While she had left that life behind, there were tenets of knowledge and ideals to which she still clung.

"Pokémon were placed on this earth for the benefit of humans," Giovanni had said, holding a cigarette between his fingers. "They are meant to obey humans. They exist for no other purpose than our exploitation. Whoever says otherwise is an emotional crock."

He also would never let her return home, not even to see her mother or friends. The one time Melissa visited, Giovanni was unusually cold to her. The way he stared with his beady, black eyes unnerved her, and Melissa wasn't afraid to tell Delia her thoughts in private. She told her there she thought was something severely wrong with him, something wrong in the head. Delia had been tempted to believe her—after all, she had her own reservations about her boyfriend—but his smooth words and kisses kept her from straying too far.

Delia ended up missing a lot. She missed Melissa and Jon's wedding. She missed the baby shower of their first and only son. She missed the death of her mother, which according to police was some sort of freak accident involving an oven. Delia refused to miss the funeral, however, and that began the quick downward spiral of her and Giovanni's relationship.

He admitted the reason he couldn't leave Viridian was because he was tied down by his mother. She was growing old, and he was posed to take over Team Rocket soon. She had never known about his connection with the crime organization, but she was horrified to learn of it. Yet, he germanely offered her a deal: He would let her return home for the funeral and mull over her options.

In retrospect, Delia realized he was probably convinced she would come back. The scary part was, she would have, too, if it weren't for a certain life-changing discovery.

She was pregnant.

That earth-shattering news changed everything, if only because she saw her mother's life unfold as her future while reading that pink plus sign on her pregnancy test. She realized she didn't want that for herself; she realized she wanted to save herself the pain of a man walking out on her as her father had walked out on her mother.

Delia never contacted Giovanni again. She moved in with the aging Greene couple, who had recently put in their adoption papers, and reinstated her father's name as a defense in case Giovanni ever came looking for her again. Strangely, he never did. He never came knocking on her door; to her knowledge, he never tried to track her down. She never figured out why—whether he simply didn't care enough to retrieve what he believed was his, or if he'd found someone else—but she didn't let it bother her.

Ash, in a way, was her saving grace. He was the reason she straightened out her life—and her head. It took several months, but over time, as she remained distant from her former beau, the nature of her relationship with Giovanni and Giovanni himself became clear. She realized she had unknowingly escaped from an abusive relationship with a sociopath.

And she loved Ash for it. She loved him for many, many reasons—his lopsided grin, his warm brown eyes, his unshakable loyalty, his boundless love for his friends and Pokémon... He was everything his father wasn't, and Delia was thankful for that. When she looked at Ash, she didn't see a trace of his father in him. He was hers and wholly hers, and she wouldn't let anything take that from her.

That was why she lied. That was why she never told him or anyone who his father was and what he did. Ash was no mistake to her, and she didn't want the legacy of his father to taint him. Moreover, she wanted to ensure he remained safe. Telling someone about Giovanni, about his work in Team Rocket, risked not only her own wellbeing, but her son's wellbeing, and that was nonoptional.

Before the December 2001 string of attacks, there was only one time Delia ever came close to saying something.

"_We're here live at the Celadon City Gym—or rather, the charred remains of the Celadon City Gym—after a fire broke out last night. This morning, we received reports that the fire was actually started by a couple of Team Rocket grunts who came to rob Gym Leader Erika Applebaum of a rare perfume fragrance kept in the gym. As always, those who many have information about Team Rocket members or incidents related to Team Rocket are encouraged to call the public hotline for the G-Men at (555)-026-0026._"

Delia sat on the sofa by herself, watching the report with dulled eyes. Team Rocket's criminal activity had surged over the past several years, and the Indigo G-Men in combination with the Hoenn division were in relentless pursuit of him. Many times, Delia wondered whether she should put in a call and tell them what she knew. She never did, because she deluded herself into thinking there was no way her information would help them.

Watching this particular report, however, unnerved her, because she suspected Ash and his friends would be near Celadon Town at that point. To assuage her own fears, she put in a call to the Pokémon Center Network. The next time Ash walked into a center to heal his Pokémon, a scan of his trainer's license at the front counter would alert Nurse Joy to the fact Delia wanted to speak to her son, and she would relay that information to Ash.

Delia was surprised that the call came so quickly.

"_Hi Mom._" Ash's smiling face always brightened her day, even if it was through a video screen. "_What'cha need to talk to me for? This is the first time you've ever used the Pokémon Center Network... is everything all right back home_?"

"Yes, everything's fine," Delia assured him. "I just wanted to check up on you. Motherly instincts, you see. I saw the report for the burning of the Celadon City Gym on the news, and it made me nervous."

"_Oh yeah, that? I know about that. We were there for it_."

"You... you were there for it?"

"_Yup! We helped put out the fire and everything. And look! I got my fourth badge!_" He lifted his jacket to reveal the rainbow flower-shaped Celadon City Gym badge.

Delia didn't have time to be proud, though.

"Did you see the Team Rocket agents, then?" she pressed.

"_Oh... those guys..._"

"Those guys?"

"_Yeah, we've ran into them several times._"

"Times?" She emphasized the 's.' "How many times?"

"_What_?"

"How many times have you run into them?"

"_Uh_..." Ash scratched his head, thinking. "_I don't know. I guess I've lost count. They're always after Pikachu_."

The color drained from Delia's face.

"Ash, why didn't you tell me about this before?"

"_I don't know. I didn't think it was that big of a deal. Pikachu always just Thunderbolts them away, anyway_."

"It is a big deal, Ash."

"_Don't worry so much, Mom. We're always OK. I've got Misty and Brock with me, and they've got my back. Those Rockets will never hurt me_. _We just talked to Officer Jenny last night and told her about it, so maybe they'll be able to arrest them and stop it all._"

Delia pushed herself back in her chair, sighing as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"All right..." she gave in. "Send Brock and Misty my best, OK? And please be safe."

"_I will, Mom. Love you._"

"I love you, too."

When the call ended and his face disappeared, her fingers lingered on her phone's keypad, wondering if she should make the call. She started dialing:

555...

026...

00...

She stopped and hung up, losing her wits. Ash would be fine, she tried to assure herself. He had kept himself safe thus far, and she trusted he would continue to do so. She didn't want to drudge up her dark past and potentially put herself and her son in harm's way, or so she told herself.

Delia wondered what would have been different if she had made that call.

_**March 5th, 2002. Late Morning. Opelucid City.**_

Ash felt a sense of anxiety briefly overshadow his conviction when he saw Kyurem launch an Ice Beam in the distance. He had never seen the Legendary before, and the sight alone was almost enough to restore his old mindset to push his companions away from him, away from the possibility of pain or—in the worst case scenario that almost came true—death.

He quickly shook the feeling off, though. He knew he was a tad naïve, but to think he could tackle three Legendary Pokémon plus the leader of Team Rocket on his own was nothing short of idiotic. He also knew (rather, he had learned) that being the Chosen One was a two-way street. Not only did he need his friends to have confidence in him, he needed to have confidence in his friends.

"W-Was he flying around while you guys were on your way here?" Barry asked nervously.

"No." Georgia quickly shook her head, though she had wide eyes. "That is definitely new."

Ash narrowed his gaze, squinting. He could see a growing speck of fire that seemed to be headed in their direction. Yet, his head snapped back toward the road as car suddenly pulled in front of them. The tires screeched slightly as it did, leaving black marks on the road. Initially, the Pallet Trainer feared Adalet had come to curb their dissent, but he quickly recognized the two trainers in the car.

Chili was the first to stumble out and throw his arms around his his brother; Cress was soon to follow.

"Ah, C-Cilan," Chili stammered through forming tears. "Sorry, I don't mean to get so emotional and clingy, it just didn't become real until I saw you..."

"Same," Cress agreed, though he was holding himself together far better than his red-haired sibling.

Cilan couldn't help but smile, and his eyes, too, began to grow watery around the edges as he extended his arms and returned their embrace.

"I'm sorry, both of you," he said sincerely. "I never wanted to do any of that to you. I do hope you'll forgive me."

"Sorry to cut a sentimental reunion short," Zoey spoke up, "but... did you two manage to get Meloetta?"

"Oh, yeah!" Chili brightened up again and, pausing to dry his eyes, broke away from his Triplet brothers and jogged back to the car. He had left Meloetta in the front passenger's seat, and he gathered her back up in his arms.

"All right, Meloetta, I'd like you to meet-" He stopped short when a Salamence rushed overhead. The sheer speed of the Dragon-type's movement cut into the air, making a quiet whistling sound. Nearly everyone stared after the Pokémon, half in awe, half in confusion, but only Iris seemed to notice the Dragon's rider, and she sucked in her breath.

"Was that... ?"

She didn't have the opportunity to finish her question, as Moltres came barreling after the Salamence from behind the group, and its talons caught on the edge of he Griffith brothers' car, picking it up briefly before letting it go and flipping it back down—just over Chili and Meloetta's head.

"Blastoise, go!" Gary's reflexes were as sharp as ever, and Blastoise immediately emerged from his Pokéball and jumped to catch the vehicle. Chili clutched Meloetta tightly, bracing himself for impact, but it never came. Gary then swept underneath the car his starter was holding up and pulled the Striaton Gym Leader and Legendary out of of harm's way. Blastoise set the car back down.

"Thank you..." Chili began, shaken, but he trailed off.

"Gary," the Pallet Town trainer introduced himself. "Believe it or not, that is actually the second time my Blastoise and I have saved someone from being crushed by a car."

He then looked toward Leaf, but unlike everyone around her, she seemed distracted. Her gaze was settled on a couple on the street whose attention had also been drawn to the near-death accident. She furrowed her eyebrows, trying to examine them more closely.

Meanwhile, Ash's eyes remained glued to Moltres for a long moment before they flicked back to Meloetta and then to Kyurem, who was launching another Ice Beam, this time aimlessly directed into the sky. The mere sight sent chill's up his spine, but the wheels in his mind began to turn as an important question formed. He could account for Kyurem and Moltres, _but where was Mewtwo_?

His gaze then wandered up toward the mountain. That was where Kyurem had come from, and Moltres and the Salamence came from that same direction, too. He concluded Mewtwo must be there. Giovanni certainly wouldn't haven been able to catch Kyurem without him.

"That was him! I'm sure of it!" Iris suddenly—and, unfortunately for everyone else, vaguely—declared. After adjusting herself so Axew was safely and securely in her hair again, she took off in the direction in which Moltres and the Salamence had gone.

"Iris!" Cilan yelped before running after her. "Where are you going?"

Others were quick to follow, but it wasn't until about half the group trickled away that someone realized some of its members—Leaf and Ash in particular—remained rooted to their spot.

"Ash," Paul growled. "What are you doing just standing there? Come on!"

"I'm not going." Ash shook his head. "I need to head for Mewtwo."

Chili, the only lingering Griffith brother since he had stopped to watch the conversation unfold, blinked when Ash extended his arm toward him and Meloetta. The Pallet trainer invited the Legendary Pokémon to join with a warm smile and a couple flicks of his fingers, but she still seemed shy.

"Don't worry." Chili glanced down at the Psychic-type with a reassuring grin. "This is the guy I was telling you about. You're going to help him."

Meloetta seemed more relaxed then, and she glided over to Ash, sitting on his extended arm. Pikachu hopped to his trainer's opposite shoulder and waved, and the raven-haired boy grinned before bringing her in close. He then looked up at Paul again, waiting for a response. Paul pressed his lips together, thinking.

"All right," he agreed, "you and I and Gary and—Leaf, where are _you_ going?"

When she saw the couple hastily turn away, she unsteadily moved forward, trying to catch up with them. When Paul called her name, however, she whipped her head around to look at him.

"I thought I saw something," she said, very seriously. "You don't need me. I'll weigh you down."

She then broke into an easy jog, but it was clear it was a painful endeavor. Paul stared after her for a long moment but shook his head, deciding he wouldn't bother stopping her.

"OK, fine then it'll just be-"

Gary took off after Leaf, and Misty's eyebrows shot up as she jerked her head toward him. Leaf had disappeared, but Gary was determined to find her again.

"Gary, whatever happened to getting even with Giovanni?" she called after him. Her tone wasn't as disbelieving as it might seem, though. It had a touch of sass in it, as if she already suspected the answer.

"That's not my priority anymore!" he shouted back before he, too, disappeared.

"Let him go. It's OK," Ash insisted, regaining the attention of his remaining peers. "Silver and I will go to the mountains ourselves. It'd be kind of poetic, don'cha think? Just Giovanni's two sons fighting him."

Silver turned his head slightly, but he remained expressionless

"Poetry doesn't matter in this situation, Ash." Paul scoffed.

"But strategy does." Ash suddenly grew serious. "We could have the element of surprise on our side with just Silver and I. It's harder to pull that off with a big group of people. No need for that with Moltres and Kyurem, though—you'll _need_ as many people as possible to stop them. Besides, you've got the Pokémon for it. Your Electivire would make a great match with that Moltres, as would all of Misty's Water-type Pokémon, plus Barry and Kenny's two Empoleon."

Strategy was a language in which Paul was fluent, and Ash was well aware of that. The Veilstone trainer appeared doubtful for a moment, and he flicked his gaze between Ash and Silver, mulling over the Pallet trainer's words.

"All right," Paul gave in. "Fine. Go ahead."

Zoey looked appalled that he had conceded so easily.

"Paul," she protested, "you were the one who was saying Ash doing things by himself was a _bad idea_."

"He's not alone, though," Paul responded, shoving his hands into his pockets. "He's got his brother."

Silver said nothing, staring at the Veilstone Trainer. Ash tilted his head slightly, looking at him, but Silver refused to acknowledge him with so little as a split second of eye contact.

"Silver... ?" Misty inquired, trying to elicit some sort of response aside from a hard gaze. The red-haired male turned and looked at the mountain.

"Yeah, we'll take care of Mewtwo and our father," he said shortly.

"And I'm counting on you guys to stop and save Moltres and Kyurem for me," Ash added.

"We will, Ash." Misty nodded resolutely. She then turned and started in the direction in which Iris had gone. The others were quick to follow, and Ash looked toward the mountain, keeping Meloetta close.

.

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	29. XXVI: In Which Iris Masters Dragons

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Chapter XXVI: In Which Iris Masters Dragons

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**_December 21st, 1992. Evening. Village of Dragons._**

It was rare the Elder ever saw her grandchildren. They both resided in the faraway Indigo regions and, despite their young ages, they held highly prestigious positions of power. The 19-year-old Lance was a member of Indigo Elite Four, while the 17-year-old Clair had established her own gym outside of Blackthorn City's Dragon's Den, where Drayden had spent much of his time training the two, preparing them for greatness—in particular, preparing Lance for greatness.

Agatha was aging, after all. In fact, nearly all the Champions were beginning to grow short on time, and the Elder suspected she would soon see a dramatic turnover across the regions, with the exception of Unova. Alder was the youngest of the Championship lineup at 46, and it would be a good decade and a half before he would need a replacement.

The Elder was not fond of these politics, however, though she was well aware of their necessity. She was not naïve to the problematic power structure that had emerged within the past ten years. Yet, she was saddened to see how it had cut her time with her grandchildren; more concerning was how Lance had been affected being raised in such a matter by his own father.

Lance's intense upbringing had stripped him of his ability to make spiritual connections with both people and Pokémon. He was detached from his family heritage, which was rooted in the Village of Dragons. His mind was undoubtedly sharp, and he was definitely skilled, but he lacked a certain degree of empathy, a failure on Drayden's end. Of course, he loved his cousin Clair, and he had a strong bond with his Dragon-type Pokémon, but his heart could not resonate with them.

She knew he would still make an excellent leader. She also hoped, however, that Drayden would realize his mistake before he inevitably chose a new trainer to prepare for the Unova Championship. Emotion, the Elder believed, was something that Championship lineup could not risk losing, despite the changes in the political sphere.

Of course, Drayden could only learn if he returned alive.

The storm was the worst the Elder had ever seen in her lifetime. A light snowfall that had served as a pleasant backdrop to their rare family reunion for the holidays turned violent as the hours drifted by. A pervading sense of death soon fell upon the older members of the family, and they knew there was trouble. Kyurem was angry; they could feel it.

Even Clair, who was less practiced in recognizing these connections, could feel it. She was different from Lance. Although she had endured similar training to that of her cousin, Drayden was ultimately not her parent. She still received the emotional and spiritual nurturing she needed from her real mother and father. Lance did not have that luxury, and so, he could not sense the same doom that had fallen upon them. He could not grasp the reason why his father would venture out into the middle of a dangerous blizzard. He thought it was irrational, completely illogical, and dangerous.

"It is not a matter of logic, Lance," Clair's mother, Lance's aunt, had told him. "It is a feeling. We have to follow that feeling."

The family now anxiously awaited his return, but the dread was growing. The Elder's son-in-law, Clair's father, had kindled a fire in the home's fireplace, and they were gathered around, uttering prayers, silent or otherwise. Clair exchanged an uneasy glance with Lance, but he averted his eyes. She knew he was worried, too.

Then came a bang on the door, and Clair's mother leapt to her feet before running into the front room and throwing the same door open. Drayden stumbled inside, carrying a large bundle in his arms. Ice was frozen into his beard and hair, and his exposed skin was red and raw. Clair's father had to join his wife in forcing the door closed again, against the powerful winds.

"Drayden." The Elder's voice was full of concern as she went to greet her son. "What-"

"-We must help her," Drayden cut her off. He lowered his arms slightly and revealed that he was carrying a child. Her brown skin was chalky, and her lips were unnaturally dark.

The Elder's eyes widened, and she breathed in sharply.

"Come, come," she quickly urged. "Bring her close to the fire."

Once she settled herself on the rug in front of the fireplace, she received the child in her arms, pulling her into the warmth of her chest. The Elder then found the girl's hand, examining it.

"Clair, Lance," she began seriously, "go into the cabinet where I keep my berries and herbs. There is a jar of Aspear berries in there. I need you to prepare a solution for frostbite."

"Yes, Grandmother," Clair said obediently before tugging Lance along with her.

The Elder took another look at the child and had a stunning realization. It was difficult to tell with how ill the girl appeared, but the Elder was fairly certain she was the 5-year-old daughter of the two travelers who had passed through the village only two days earlier. She had trouble recalling the girl's name, however.

"Drayden, where did you find this girl?" the Elder asked. "_How_ did you find her?"

"I sensed her fading spirit as I ventured to see Kyurem. She and her parents were half-buried beneath the snow, and I could hardly see them through the storm."

"Her parents, are they-"

"Dead," Drayden answered flatly. "I did not have the strength to retrieve their bodies."

"Perhaps when the storm subsides, we should search party out for them and give them a proper burial," Clair's father said.

"We will consider that later."

Suddenly, the Elder felt the child stir, and she glanced down just as the girl opened her eyes. Her warm, amber irises were now dull and cloudy with both fear and confusion. The Elder then remembered the child's name.

"It's OK, Iris," she reassured the girl, brushing a dark lock out of her face. "You're safe. We'll take care of you."

**_March 5th, 2002. Late Morning. Opelucid City._**

Iris's heart was pumping hard, and her breath grew more labored as she desperately (unsuccessfully) tried to keep up with Moltres and the Salamence. When she saw the Dragon-type begin to curve left to turn around, she changed direction down an alleyway, hoping she could intercept.

When an opportunity came, she immediately took advantage. Salamence flew overhead, and Iris jerked toward her Axew as Moltres approached.

"Axew, use Dragon Rage!" she ordered.

Axew looked at her in surprise, but nevertheless began building energy. Iris exchanged an anxious glance between her Pokémon and the incoming Legendary. If Axew didn't hurry, his attack would miss entirely.

The timing, however, ended up being perfect. Just as Moltres was about to pass over the Dragon Master hopeful and Axew, the Dragon-type unleashed its power. The beam of bluish flames was slightly off-target, hitting Moltres in the wing, but the move knocked the Fire-type off his balance—and that angered him. He stopped and directed a Flamethrower at the girl and her Axew.

"Beartic, use Ice Beam!"

The Ice-type attack saved Iris from the flames, but the melted water rained upon her and Axew.

Moltres seemed irate, but he didn't linger long. With an indignant beat of his flaming wings, he continued after Salamence. Iris was about to follow, but a sudden, surprise hand from behind firmly jerked her back. The Dragon-type trainer looked wildly behind her to see Georgia and her Beartic. Many of her companions and Unova rivals and acquaintances were running toward them.

"Oh, _no you don't_," Georgia sassed her. "What's your deal?"

"Yeah," Cilan began, breathless from running as he slowed to meet the two female trainers, "why did you go off like that, Iris?"

"And why is Moltres so bent on catching that Salamence?" Ritchie asked.

Iris did not answer any of these questions. She instead spun back toward Moltres and Salamence, and she was horrified to see Moltres launch a successful Fire Blast at the Dragon-type—successful, because it was a direct hit, and it knocked the blue Dragon's rider off.

"No! Drayden!" Iris screeched.

"Gallade, use Psychic!" The group that had stayed behind with Ash longer was only now catching up from the opposite direction, and Zoey was quick in her attempt to save the falling gym leader.

The Blade Pokémon's Psychic-type move caught Drayden in its pinkish glow and eased him toward the ground. Salamence wasn't as lucky. He crashed into a rooftop, but he had better endurance than his aging trainer. Moltres was prepared to unleash another Fire-type move against Drayden, but Salamence warded him off with Hydro Pump.

Iris bolted toward the Opelucid Gym Leader's side and, much to her horror, found he was seriously injured. It was clear he had fallen off Salamence more than once, and his own blood was speckled through his snow white hair and beard. Moltres's Fire Blast had caught the side of his right leg, burning it. He was clutching some sort of circular object in his arms.

"Drayden! Drayden!" the girl cried. "Are you OK? What's happened? Why is Moltres after you?"

He let on a rare smile when he saw her.

"Ah, Iris..." he greeted tiredly. "I knew you had felt it, too, and I knew you would come."

"Iris, you know him?" Trip was surprised. He was studied in his Unova gym leaders, and he certainly wouldn't have expected her to have such a high-profile connection.

Drayden leaned his head back, looking up at his Salamence, which was hovering in the air above him.

"Go without me," he told his loyal Dragon-type. "Keep Moltres distracted."

Salamence nodded and took off. Paul watched the Dragon Pokémon go before snapping his head toward his peers as everyone gathered around the ailing gym leader.

"We should go after him, too," the Veilstone Trainer said. "Barry and Kenny, bring your Empoleon. Ritchie, Sparky. Dawn, Piplup. Zoey, Gastrodon. Misty—anything you've got. We need to try to break the control Giovanni has over him."

Barry and Kenny exchanged confused glances, but Barry quickly broke into a grin as he retrieved his starter's Pokéball and enlarged it. Dawn tightened her grip on Piplup, and Ritchie called out his Pikachu, letting the Electric-type climb onto his shoulder. Misty picked one of her own Pokéballs from her collection of six, and Zoey called back her Gallade.

"All right, Bianca, stay safe while I'm gone!" Barry gave her a friendly salute before the seven headed off in pursuit of Moltres.

As soon as they were gone, Iris turned back toward Drayden.

"We have to get you to a hospital," she insisted.

"You do not worry about me," he said. "There is only one thing you must worry about."

The teens winced when they heard Kyurem's cry, and they looked up as he flew above them.

"Old man, are you insane?" Georgia demanded, looking back at the Opelucid Gym Leader. "No way could any one of us take on Kyurem. Iris will get herself killed, in the same way that Moltres almost did you in."

"Kyurem will destroy the city if he is not stopped," Drayden persisted. "When I removed the device Team Rocket was using to control him, he went into a rampage. I could not stop him, because I had to protect this—" He showed them the circular device in his hands. "—to ensure they could not capture him again. Moltres came after me that reason, and he will come again if he is not stopped, either. If I can't save Kyurem, then Iris can."

He then looked more directly at the Dragon Master hopeful.

"You are the girl who can understand the heart of dragons," he said. "If you can learn to understand Kyurem, too, then you will succeed."

Iris appeared apprehensive, and there was a glimpse of terror in her eyes. Nevertheless, she slowly nodded, before looking to her peers.

"Georgia, Burgundy, Stephan, Luke, Bianca—" she began calmly, though seriously, "—please take Drayden to the Opelucid hospital. He needs medical attention."

Iris then gently took the control device out of Drayden's hands, holding it out to Cilan.

"The rest of you, take this and keep it safe," she said. "Hopefully, Paul and the others will hold Moltres off, but be prepared for trouble. As for myself..." She paused, looking toward the sky again. Kyurem had yet to tire in his rage. "... I'll take care of Kyurem."

"You'll never catch up on foot. That Moltres was too much, and Kyurem is a lot faster," Drew suddenly spoke up.

"What would you suggest I do, then, Drew?" Iris sighed, exasperated.

"You won't be able to do anything if you can't get in the air, and I doubt your Emolga can carry you," he explained. "I have a Flygon, though. We can get you close."

He then released the dual Ground/Dragon-type from his Pokéball, and Iris—even if for just a moment—grew starry-eyed at the prospect of riding on the back of such a majestic Pokémon.

"Do _not_ encourage her, green-haired boy who is not Cilan," Georgia said with a huff. "You honestly think because some concussed guy says she can 'understand the hearts of dragons' that she'll be able to stop Kyurem? Iris, I dealt with you dying once. I don't want to do it again."

Drew whipped his head around to face her.

"Look here, pink-haired girl who is not Solidad—"

"—Who's _Solidad_?" Georgia scoffed.

"—For the past several months, I have seen and heard and experienced things that I didn't even think were in the realm of possibility," Drew plowed on. "At this point, I'm willing to believe anything."

He turned to help Iris climb onto his Flygon, and he was soon to follow. Watching him, however, caused May to swell a mix of happiness and pride and fear for the worst, and just before Drew was prepared to hop on his Flygon, too, she stopped him.

"Drew?" She grabbed his attention with a tug on his sleeve.

"Yeah?" He looked back at her.

Without any sort of warning, she reached up and grasped the collar of his jacket before pulling him down for a kiss. His initial surprise quickly melted into reciprocation.

"Oh Mew," Trip began, pressing the palm of his hand to his face. He was blushing. "Is this _really_ the time for that?"

Others weren't so derisive, and Bianca practically squealed.

"I swear, this is just like some kind of action/romance novel!" she gushed.

"Yeah!" Stephan agreed. "It's kind of like what Luke said earlier about heroes in stories."

"Except a bit _loufoque_," Burgundy added. Georgia groaned and looked away.

Their comments were ignored by the Hoenn couple, and both were positively glowing when they broke away from each other. However, their sweet moment of public intimacy was quickly overshadowed by the tasks before them, and their expressions deadpanned. She gave him a quick nod before he turned and climbed onto his Flygon. Iris gave him a quick, teasing look, but he brushed it off.

"Hold on tight," he said, and Iris wrapped her arms around the coordinator's waist. Flygon beat his wings once, twice, three times, before managing to fully propel himself off the ground and into the air.

Cilan watched the two disappear with a concerned gaze before looking down at the control device Iris had given him. He moved his hands across the surface, and his eyes widened.

"Oh!" he exclaimed with realization.

"What is it, Cilan?" Cress asked.

"This is made from the armor of an Aggron," the connoisseur declared. "It's an illegal practice to strip an Aggron of its armor, but it's still done because the material is very strong—practically indestructible."

"That must be..." Drayden began slowly. He was still sitting behind the group. "That must be why my Salamence's Hyper Beam couldn't destroy it."

"Well, if we can't destroy it, then we'll just have to make sure Team Rocket doesn't get it," Chili said, determined.

"Right." Cilan nodded. "Let's get going. It's no good to be out in the open here."

He, his brothers, May, and Trip quickly left after that. Stephan then turned toward Drayden. He slung the gym leader's arm over his shoulder, helping him to stand.

"Come on guys," the trainer encouraged. "Gimme a hand."

* * *

James panicked when he heard the voices behind them, and he spun around to see a pack of fellow Team Rocket agents hurrying down the trail. Pierce, Annie, and Oakley were at the forefront. James immediately feared the worst, believing that perhaps they had somehow found out about their betrayal and had come after them.

James immediately grabbed onto Jessie and Meowth, and he dove with them behind a large boulder. The pack of agents continued past them, never having spotted the trio.

"Oww, James!" Meowth complained. "Ya pinched my fur!"

"Sorry," James sheepishly apologized. "I didn't want them to see us. But, they're gone now, so I guess we can-"

He stopped short when, in the distance, he saw Kyurem crash into the upper floors of a tall building in his blind anger. James shuttered.

"Actually... maybe we should stay right here for just a bit longer," he said.

Jessie and Meowth seemed to agree.

* * *

Max ran on the heels of his parents, though he struggled to keep up with his small size and low endurance. He was determined to help, though, especially with the knowledge that they were completely unprepared for battle. Many of the gym leaders had split up in the chaos, and though he might have been a new trainer, there had to be some way he could contribute, too, right?

"You there!" Norman shouted to a couple of Team Rocket agents up ahead. They stopped and stared at the gym leader, like a couple of Deerling in the headlights.

"Go, Vigororth!" Norman continued after snatching up one of his Pokéballs and releasing the vicious Normal-type inside.

"I need your help, Linoone!" Caroline called out one of her own Pokémon.

"Uh, uh," one of the agents panicked, realizing the couple wanted a battle. "OK, go Weezing!"

"You too, Toxicroak!" The other rallied with his co-worker.

Max caught up just as the battle was going to begin, breathless. He then cringed when he heard Kyurem roar, which temporarily distracted him and his parents. The two Rocket agents tried to use the moment the three weren't watching to escape, but Norman quickly snapped his head back toward them.

"Not so fast," he growled. "Vigoroth, use Slash!"

Realizing he couldn't be of any help to his parents—after all, they were evenly matched—Max turned and took off in another direction, continuing without them. His mother quickly noticed.

"Max!" she cried. "Where are you going?"

"Don't worry, Mom!" he called back. "I'll be fine!"

* * *

There came a point where Gary had to force Leaf to stop, though, perhaps 'force' was too strong a word. When he called out to her, telling her to take just a moment to _breathe_, she nearly collapsed on her own.

"Are you sure it was them?" Gary persisted.

"Positive." Leaf nodded. "I don't know how they would have got from Johto to here, especially since they should have been arrested... but there's no doubt about it."

She was leaning against the brick wall of the building they stood beside. Her hands were crossed over her gut, and she was leaning forward, trying to find some way to ease the pain, even if minimally. Gary frowned.

"Leaf, I don't think this is even worth it," he said.

"You didn't have to come. You could have stayed with Ash and the others if you wanted," Leaf retorted.

"You're missing my point." Gary shook his head. "You're not in a condition to do... anything!"

"Gee, thanks Garebear."

"I'm not trying to be a jerk. You're running yourself into the ground, and it's hard to watch. The last thing I would want to happen is for you go downhill again."

Leaf stared, thinking as she raised her hand to wipe her mouth.

"Gary," she began seriously, "I get that I scared you a lot yesterday morning, and I know better than anyone that I'm far from being 100 percent OK. But please don't make me borrow Ash's cute little catchphrase again. Rocket agents aren't touring around town for fun. There's a reason why they're here, and we've got to find out. No way we'll catch up, much less find them, if we dawdle for any longer."

She began jogging again, and Gary let out a long sigh before following.

* * *

Salamence, perhaps surprisingly, was a good match for Moltres. Now that he no longer had to concern himself with the wellbeing of his trainer, he could focus on battling—and battling was something in which Drayden had trained him _very_ well.

Yet, though Fire-type moves were not effective against Dragon-types, Moltres was known as a Legendary Pokémon for a reason. The direct hit Salamence had taken demonstrated the extraordinary power and heat Moltres carried in his flame. Moreover, the attack had burned him, and his energy was depleting as a result.

This, of course, did not deter Salamence. Moltres, too, was growing tired. The long chase in addition to the many fiery attacks he had launched had drained him, and he hovered low, seeking a moment of repose. Salamence took advantage of his opportunity and dove toward the Legendary with Dragon Rush. Moltres pressed through his exhaustion and evaded the attack, though barely. Salamence, at his speed, was prepared to crash straight into the ground, and he had to beat to his wings to pull himself up.

With Salamence distracted trying to save himself, Moltres used Fire Spin. Salamence swiftly turned belly-up in the air and launched a Fire Blast as a counterattack. The exposure was dangerous for the Dragon-type, but taking another hit or two would bring a certain end to the battle.

The Fire Blast turned out to be a mistake. While it overpowered Moltres's Fire Spin and made direct contact with Moltres, the flames had the opposite effect of what Salamence might have hoped. The fiery Pokémon closed his eyes, allowing himself to absorb the attack.

"Sparky, don't let him store up heat like that! Use Thunderbolt!"

A wild whip of lightning shot toward Moltres, and he dispelled the flames surrounding him as a way to shield himself. Salamence spun back over in the air and looked down toward the new arrivals.

"Salamence, we've come to help!" Ritchie said with a thumbs-up.

In the half-second the Dragon-type was distracted, Moltres attacked with an abnormally powered-up Flamethrower. There was nothing the Dragon-type could do to retaliate. He didn't have a hope of survival. He went down and slammed into the ground in the most ungraceful way possible.

"Newsflash: That was not helpful," Paul snarled, and Ritchie sheepishly cringed.

"Don't be a jerk now of all times, Paul," Zoey snapped.

Misty looked around her wildly before her eyes landed on a fountain in the open square in which they stood. She held out the Pokéball she had chosen for this battle.

"Gyarados, I-"

From her belt, another Pokéball unexpectedly opened, and Psyduck stumbled out in front of his redheaded trainer. Misty's expression turned sour, and Paul gave her a strange look.

"Psyduck!" she fumed at her confused-looking Pokémon. "This is not the time!"

The angry, avianous cry of Moltres was enough to terrify the Water-type. He panicked before hurriedly waddling behind his trainer, clinging to her leg.

"Yeah, you _stay_ behind there," she scoffed before lifting her first Pokéball again. "Gyarados, I choose you!"

The Atrocious Pokémon rose up with a horrible roar. Although the water of the fountain was shallow, it was enough to keep the temperamental Gyarados satisfied and ready for battle. He immediately seemed to know who his opponent was as he looked up at Moltres with a snarl. The Legendary spat fire at him, demonstrating that he was no easy foe.

"OK, we can do this is we coordinate it right," Kenny began. He was trying to keep a cool head in the face of battle, and he was mostly successful. The slight waiver in his voice went unnoticed by his companions. "If Misty, Zoey, Dawn, Barry, and I all weaken Moltres with Water-type moves, then Paul's Electivire's and Sparky's Electric-type attacks will be super-"

Moltres would not wait for strategy. His energy now completely restored by Salamence's Fire Blast, he unleashed another Flamethrower, this time directed at Gyarados. Gyarados retaliated with a Hydro Pump, and the other trainers saw this as a chance to overtake him.

"Gastrodon!" Zoey called out her pink-and-brown-colored Pokémon. "Use Mud-" She stopped short. While a Ground-type move like Mud Bomb would be effective against a Fire-type, Moltres was also a Flying-type. It wouldn't do any real damage, and it would potentially inhibit the power of later Electric-type attacks. "All right, use Water Pulse instead!"

"Empoleon! Use Hydro Cannon!"

"You too, Empoleon!"

Barry and Kenny briefly glanced at each other, as did both of their Empoleon. Then Barry gave his friend a confident grin before prompting his Pokémon to go through with the attack. Kenny's Empoleon soon followed.

"Piplup, use your Big Bubble!" Dawn glanced down at her Piplup before letting him out of her arms.

Misty jerked her head toward the blunette with a quirked eyebrow.

"_Big Bubble_?" She was a Water-type specialist, and she had _never_ heard of that move before.

It was, in fact, Piplup's Bubblebeam attack, but instead of a stream of many bubbles, he created one large bubble that he flung at Moltres. Moltres's Flamethrower canceled out Gyarados's Hydro Pump, and he managed to skillfully maneuver around the various Water-type attacks that came his way. He dodged all but one—Piplup's Big Bubble surprised him. It hit beneath a wing, not quite square in the chest, but above one of his talons.

That didn't mean it didn't hurt, though.

Moltres was infuriated, and he directed a Fire Blast toward Piplup and his trainer.

"Piplup, use Whirlpool!"

The spiral of water attempted to swallow the flames, and for a moment, it seemed the defensive move would be successful. However, Piplup was outmatched in both size and power. His ability to maintain the attack lessened, and Moltres's flames broke through the water. Piplup was too tired to even think of trying to retaliate again, so someone else had to step in.

"Electivire, Protect!"

Electivire could only conjure up shields so quickly, however, and it was only enough to ensure the safety of the Penguin Pokémon.

Being tackled to the ground, out of the way of a Legendary's violent attack, conjured up Dawn's memories of the morning Kenny saved her from Mewtwo's Shadow Ball—except now she wasn't the one with the misfortune of an accidental injury. She heard Paul hiss a pained obscenity near her ear as he lifted himself off her and rolled onto his back. He was clutching his arm.

Dawn quickly sat up.

"Did you break it?" she hurriedly asked.

"I'm not sure," he replied gruffly. "Did you hear a snap?"

"I don't think so."

"Paul! Dawn!" Kenny and Barry were running toward the fallen pair. Dawn helped Paul sit up as the two approached.

"You guys OK?" Kenny asked. "Let me just-"

He reached out, wanting to help Paul get to his feet but failing to understand he was injured. When Kenny touched the afflicted limb, Paul snarled and batted at him with his free hand.

"Bad arm, that's my _bad arm_!" Paul harshly informed him.

"Oh, sorry!" Kenny immediately backed off.

Moltres fired another attack at the distracted group of five, but Misty had an eye out for them.

"Gyarados, use Hydro Pump again!" she ordered, knowing—at least, hoping—it would cancel out Moltres's flames a second time. She was right, but Moltres grew more frustrated. While his power outmatched every other Pokémon present, he couldn't compete with all of them at the same time. He decided he needed to systematically take them out, one by one, if he wanted to get anywhere.

He turned his attention toward whom he judged would be his most formidable foe, and that was Gyarados. He then picked a move no one present was aware he knew: Sky Attack.

Moltres barreled toward Gyarados at a steep angle and took him out with one hit. The Water-type fell against the fountain's centerpiece, and the decorative stone broke from the impact and cut into Gyarados's fine blue scales. A small wave of water splashed out of the fountain, and what remained began to tint red from the Atrocious Pokémon's injury.

"Gyarados!" Misty's voice was strained as she ran to check up on her unconscious Pokémon, leaving Psyduck behind.

"Misty, don't!" Ritchie warned her, but it was too late. The redheaded gym leader hopped into the fountain, wading through the shallow water to aid her Gyarados. It was then that Moltres identified Misty as the Water-type's trainer, and he began readying another fiery attack.

"Piplup, use Bubblebeam!" Dawn ordered, hoping to draw Moltres's attention away from the now defenseless Misty. Everyone was surprised, however, when a thin stream of water hit Moltres's side. Moltres turned his head toward his assailant: Psyduck, who was determined to protect his trainer.

The attack had been little more than a nuisance, however, but the irate Moltres sent a Fire Spin toward the Duck Pokémon with the intention of quickly knocking him out. Psyduck transitioned into the full-on panic mode and began running away from the flames. Moltres's attack followed him, though, and Psyduck quickly grew tired. He paused to catch his breath, and therein lied Moltres's opportunity.

His frustration peaked, so when he used another Fire Blast, an already extraordinarily powerful Fire-type attack, it had a bit of extra might behind it. As the flames formed their 大 shape, Psyduck's hysteria intensified—and that, in addition to his brief stint of bravery, translated into big change. He began glowing white, and several surprised gasps followed as Psyduck transformed into his evolved form, Golduck.

Misty held her breath with wide eyes as she rose up from her Gyarados's side.

The newly evolved Duck Pokémon wasted no time. His Hydro Pump sliced straight through Moltres's Fire Blast and made direct contact with the Flame Pokémon. The other trainers didn't let this pivotal moment go to waste, either.

"Gastrodon, give him another Water Pulse!" Zoey ordered.

"Piplup, Whirlpool!"

"Empoleon-" Kenny began.

"-and Empoleon," Barry added.

"Use Hydro Cannon!" the two then said in unison.

The combined force of the Water-type moves was awe-inspiring—so the addition of another attack made it all the more spectacular.

"Marshtomp, use Water Gun!"

Misty immediately recognized the voice, and she inhaled sharply.

The help they desperately needed had come.

Brock's Marshtomp's Water Gun was the tipping point. When the assortment of Water-type attacks subsided, Moltres was soaked, and his flames had grown weak. All the power gained from Salamence's Fire Blast had been lost, and the Legendary was now exposed and ready for phase two of the trainer's hasty plan.

"Sparky, use Thunder!" Ritchie ordered.

"You, too, Electivire," Paul said as he staggered to his feet. He was still clutching his arm, holding it up.

Brock was not the only trainer who had come to assist the cause.

"Luxray, use Discharge!" Reggie burst onto the scene alongside Brock. However, the bigger surprise—at least, to Paul—was when Brandon came up behind them with his Regice in tow.

"Regice," Brandon said firmly, "use Zap Cannon!"

The four Electric-type moves sealed the deal, as Moltres came crashing to the earth. Silence hung in the air as the teens and adults alike watched the Legendary Pokémon lie motionless, save the rise and fall of his chest. When it became apparent Moltres was unable to battle any further, Dawn sprung into action.

She hurried toward the Fire-type and began erratically searching for the device that kept him under Giovanni's control. She soon found it, and she took a closer look. The device was literally embedded into the Pokémon, with little claws hooked under the skin. Dawn knew there were probably better, more medically condoned ways of removing it, but there was no room for risk in the case of Moltres waking up. She gripped the device—it fit perfectly between her spread fingers—and ripped it off. Blood dripped from the claws as she dropped it, letting it clatter against the pavement.

It was over.

At least, one-third of it was over.

Golduck let out a victorious cry before turning toward his trainer in the fountain. She lit up as he hurried toward her with open arms, tackling her into the water with a hug, which Misty was more than willing to reciprocate.

"Oh Golduck!" she happily cried. "Thank you! We owe it all to you!"

"Misty!" The red-haired gym leader sat up and turned her head when she heard her name called. She was surprised to see all three of her sisters running toward her, and they were not only willing, but happy to hop into the fountain and tackle their younger sister with hugs, too.

"Misty, Misty!" Violet exclaimed, teary-eyed. "Oh Misty..." She couldn't say much else.

"Like, we're so happy to see you!" Lily added.

"Yeah." Daisy was the first to pull away. Tears were in her eyes, too. "It's been a rough couple of months without you."

Misty didn't know what to say. She saw Tracey approaching the fountain's edge, and he smiled and waved at her. It was then that Misty let on a crooked smile and returned her sisters' embrace.

Paul remained cautious as Brandon approached. Reggie noticed the impending confrontation, and he jogged to catch up with his father. Paul lifted his head slightly, apparently a tad more receptive now that his older brother was coming, too.

"Did you break your arm, son?" Brandon asked, placing a hand on Paul's shoulder.

Paul's bottom lip twitched.

"I don't know," he replied, estranged. "I don't think so, but this isn't exactly a walk in the park."

"Well, we'll take you to the hospital ASAP," Reggie added with a relieved smile. Paul, in the grand scheme of things, was OK, and he had never felt better.

The atmosphere seemed to shift once Delia and Professor Oak entered the scene. Maylene was with her and the professor; the Veilstone Gym Leader and her Lucario were, in a sense, acting as their body guards among the chaos. Professor Oak immediately joined Dawn's side, examining Moltres. While he certainly was no Pokémon Doctor, he could tell the Legendary had taken a lot of serious damage. He bent down and picked up the control device. He concluded the control Giovanni had over Moltres had caused the Fire-type to push himself well beyond his limit.

Delia spent a moment looking around before seeing Misty in the fountain.

"Misty," the mother called out to the redhead. "Where's Ash?"

Misty gently pushed her sisters off before staggering to her feet.

"Headed for the hills," she answered.

"He ran away?" Maylene appalled.

"No," Paul corrected, shaking his head. "She means that literally. Ash is going up the mountain with Silver. They think Giovanni and Mewtwo are up there."

"Who's Silver?" Delia's face twisted with confusion.

Paul stared for a long moment.

"You know, I'm going to let Ash explain that one to you, Ms. Ketchum," he finally said.

"What about the rest of the fourteen?" Brock asked. "May? Cilan?"

"All over the place," Zoey responded. "Can't tell you who's where, though. We are not nearly as put together now as we were at the Sinnoh base."

"Yet, we've already had a lot more success," Kenny added under his breath.

Professor Oak turned toward the full group.

"Moltres is in need of serious medical attention," he declared. "We need to take him to a Pokémon Center immediately."

"It won't take all of us to haul him to a center, though," Brock pointed out. "We should split up. Some of us should head for the mountains to help Ash, and some of us should stay to protect Moltres. It's a possibility there will be Rocket agents who will want to take him back from us."

"So, we should probably take care of this, too," Dawn said, taking the control device back from the professor.

"Right," Misty agreed, pulling out her Pokéball and returning her injured Gyarados. "My Gyarados also needs help, so leave Moltres to us."

'_Us_.' It was perhaps a bit of a vague pronoun to any outsiders, but it was mutually understood among the teens. 'Us' was them, together.

"Yeah, we'll finish it out," Paul added.

"You, yourself need medical attention," Reggie emphasized.

"Where there's a Pokémon Center, there's a hospital nearby," Paul retorted. "I'll be headed in the same direction anyway."

"You and Maylene should go with the group to the center, then," Brandon instructed. "I'll go with Brock to find Ash and this Silver. Anyone else joining us? Tracey?"

"Ah... yes, I'll come!" The Pokémon Watcher seemed determined.

"Me too!" Daisy chimed in, hopping out of the fountain and joining her boyfriend at his side. She wrung the water out of the edge of her shirt. "I'll come, too!"

"Daisy?" Misty was surprised. Her sister was not a battler, far from it. In fact, Daisy, along with Lily and Violet, had always complained that she didn't like participating in Pokémon battles. It was the primary reason Misty ran the gym.

"Don't worry, sis." Daisy turned and winked at the redhead. "I'll make sure your future husband is safe!"

Misty's face shaded red, and she growled, "That comment was not necessary, and I'm going to ask you never say something like that again."

Their plans solidified, Brandon turned toward his two sons again for one last time.

"Reggie, take care of your brother," he said.

"I will, Dad." Reggie nodded.

Paul stared as Brandon walked away to join Brock, Tracey, and Daisy. His same-age peers, in addition to Delia, Maylene, Professor Oak, and Misty's two sisters joined together to quickly brainstorm how they would move Moltres to safety. The Veilstone trainer then exchanged a glance with his brother, who chuckled in return.

"I have a lot to tell you," Reggie admitted.

Paul raised his eyebrows.

"Same."

* * *

Pierce paused with wide eyes and tight lips when he saw the bright flash of electricity overtake Moltres, and his stomach clinched with horror when the grandiose bird-like Pokémon fell out of the sky. The Boss had sent him and perhaps thirty other agents down the trail and into the city, into the chaos. Their job was to ensure the recapture of Kyurem and safe return of Moltres, yet both Legendaries had gotten away from them. Moreover, their pack had whittled down to about twenty agents, with gym leaders forcing the strays into battle.

"Let's hurry," he said urgently, leading the way. They progressed perhaps a block when he heard voices around the corner.

"_So is there somewhere we can go? Somewhere where can hide, where can keep that thing out of Team Rocket's hands?_"

"_I'm not sure. Maybe we can leave it at a Pokémon Center. Then we can go check out what happened with Moltres..._"

"_No, no, doing that would put Nurse Joy and all the Pokémon there in danger. We're just going to have to move out of the city, or figure out a way to destroy it._"

"_An Aggron's armor, though!_"

"_Shush, Chili, you're speaking too loud!_"

Pierce stopped, narrowing his gaze.

"Oakley, Annie; take ten and keep going toward Moltres," he instructed the sisters. "The rest of you, stick with me. We've got company."

"Yes, sir," Oakley saluted before heading off with her sister and the first ten agents to follow them.

"Sir, what are we-" another underling agent started, but Pierce cut him off.

"-Just wait," he said.

It wasn't long before five young trainers rounded the corner, and Pierce could pick out the faces of two of the five: Cilan Griffith and May Maple. He knew the tenets of Project Legendary well, including the files they kept of the trainers related to Ash Ketchum. He expected they would come.

He was less clear on the identities of the other three. He suspected two were Cilan's triplet brothers, but he wasn't sure. He had no idea who the blond boy was, but he supposed it didn't matter.

The five froze when they saw the line of eight Team Rocket agents.

"Well, well," Pierce began with a condescending smirk. "It seems you've got something that belongs to us."

"You'll have the battle us if you want it," Chili said quickly and with conviction, though his words clumped together into one mass.

Pierce laughed.

"All right, if that's the way you want it."

He promptly called out his Scrafty, who snarled at the trainers. The other Rocket agents' Pokémon soon followed: Cofagrigus, Seviper, Haunter, Mightyena, Ninjask, and Purugly.

May drew back slightly.

"Cilan, we're outnumbered," she breathed, nervous.

"I know," the connoisseur said, clutching the control device tightly to his chest with one arm. "Don't let it deter you." He then used his free hand to grab one of his Pokéballs. "Go, Pansage!"

"Yeah, you come out, too, Pansear!" Chili followed his brother's lead.

"And Panpour!" Cress joined in.

One of the lower agents bust up laughing before saying, "Seriously? All three of the elemental monkeys? How hokey can you get?"

"You can tease them if you win," Trip retorted as he retrieved one of his own Pokéballs. "Go, Gurdurr!"

"Come on, Blaziken! Take the stage!" May rallied with her male peers. She was also the first to call an attack. "Blaziken, use Blaze Kick against that Scrafty!"

"Scrafty, dodge and use Crunch!" Pierce retaliated.

Scrafty ducked below Blaziken's fiery kick before leaping up and biting down on the Fire-type's arm. _Hard_. Blaziken let out a pained cry, and other Rockets' Pokémon jumped in to attack May's starter, too. The Seviper used Poison Tail, striking him on the back, while Haunter used Shadow Ball, hitting him in the front.

"Pansear, use Fire Blast to get those other Pokémon off Blaziken!" Chili rushed to May's aid.

Meanwhile, the other three trainers tried to focus their attention on the Rockets' Pokémon that currently _weren't_ attacking Blaziken. Trip's Gurdurr used Dynamicpunch against the Purugly, and it was a knockout. The Purugly flew back into its trainer, and both fell to the ground; the first victory. Panpour's Scald burned Ninjask, giving Cress the immediate upper hand. Pansage's SolarBeam was a direct hit against Mightyena, and the damage was obvious.

Pansear's Fire Blast also managed to ward off Scrafty, Seviper, and Haunter. Blaziken was freed from their beatdown, and he was grateful. Yet, the lack of numbers on the teens' side meant there was a Pokémon that went unaccounted. Cofagrigus suddenly appeared before the five young trainers, its black, otherworldly arms looming before them.

"Kirlia, use Psychic!"

Cofagrigus stopped, the forces of the Psychic-type attack immobilizing him. May gasped before spinning around to see her brother standing behind them with the Emotion Pokémon at his side.

Kirlia then threw Cofagrigus back, knocking down several Rocket agents. Max immediately broke into a grin before running up to his sister and throwing his arms around her.

"May! I'm so glad you're OK!" he exclaimed.

"Max!" May blinked, being surprised, confused, and happy all at once. "Why are you here? How did you get here? And how do you have your first Pokémon? I thought Professor Birch only gave out starters every April!"

"Mom and Dad are here, fighting Team Rocket, too," Max explained, adjusting his glasses with a smile. "And this Kirlia is the Ralts I met while travelling with you and Ash and Brock in Hoenn. I went back for him like I promised, and see, he evolved!"

"Fools!" Pierce spat, regaining the attention of the young trainers. "I hope you realize Psychic-types are weak against Dark-types! Scrafty, use-"

"Cacturne, use Cotton Spore!"

Whatever move Pierce had in mind for his Scrafty went unannounced, as a field of large fluffy, cotton balls suddenly blew up around the pack of Team Rocket agents.

"W-What is the meaning of this?" Pierce sputtered, trying to wade his way through the fluff.

"Now, Butterfree, use Sleep Powder!"

The Rocket agents' attempts to escape the field with their Pokémon grew more desperate as the Butterfree soared above them, releasing her bluish powder. Ultimately, the agents (including Pierce) were unsuccessful as they sank down into the cotton bed.

May's eyes immediately raised toward the sky, from where the Butterfree had come, as she sought after their benefactors.

"Solidad? Harley?!" The Hoenn coordinator saw the two standing on the rooftop of the one-story building above them.

"Hey sugarplum." Harley waved at her with a cheeky grin. "Long time, no see. Where's your boyfriend?"

"Y-You mean Drew?" May stammered. "He's..." She stopped short and winced when Kyurem roared again. It seemed he had not grown tired in his rage at all. "... there."

"With Kyurem?" Solidad appalled.

"Yes," May affirmed.

Solidad exchanged a worried glance with Harley, and he nodded.

"OK," Solidad began, thinking. "Harley stay here with the kids. Keep Butterfree with you just in case those Rocket agents come around. She'll listen to you."

"You got it, Sol." Harley saluted her. Solidad then peered back down at May.

"It's good to see you again, May," she called out. May tentatively waved back, and Solidad turned and hurried off.

* * *

"The airport?" Gary furrowed his eyebrows as his fingers curled into the chain-link fence, barring him entry back onto the runway. "Why would they come here?"

The screech of an airplane coming into land caused Gary to shift uncomfortably. He would have pressed his hands to his ears, but he hadn't realized there was an incoming plane. It had approached from behind, flying over both his and Leaf's heads.

"Don't know, don't care," Leaf replied shortly. The wretchedly loud noise worsened her already sour mood. "I just know they're up to something, and we have to figure out what."

She grasped the fence and tried to pull herself up, but she gasped in a pained breath. Too much; she'd already been pushing herself, but her body sent a clear message that climbing was off-limits in her condition.

"... Yeah, that's not going to happen," Gary said, having watched the whole thing unfold. He pulled out one of his Pokéballs and released his Scizor. "Use X-Scissor!"

Scizor's claws began glowing before he crossed them and hit the fence, making a clean, x-shaped cut. Then, without his trainer's instruction, he used Metal Claw to tear down the left and right, creating an entryway.

"O... K..." Leaf trailed off, staring at the break he had made in the fence.

"What?" Gary glowered at her.

"Nothing. I'm down with the destruction of property."

"Leaf," he half-growled, half-sighed.

"Gary, I said I'm down with it. Don't be so sensitive," she teased before venturing forward. Gary rolled his eyes and gestured for his Scizor to follow, rather than calling him back into his Pokéball.

Leaf broke into a light jog again when she caught sight of the two people she and Gary had tailed for quite a while at that point. The pair was walking along the runway, and when Gary saw them, too, he hurried to catch up with Leaf.

"Hey! Bill, Cassidy!" he called out.

"It's _Butch_!" The male Rocket agent angrily whipped around, but his face paled when he saw who had come for them. "Y-You guys!"

"In the flesh," Leaf sassed with a coy smile, getting back into her element. This was always her favorite part. It was even sweeter since it seemed they were _scared_. Granted, she would be, too, if she were in their place. The pack had whipped them into shape when they accidentally met up in January, and the steps Leaf had taken with her Hypno had caused them to be arrested.

"What are you doing here?" Cassidy demanded.

"Actually, we wanted to ask you the same question..." Gary said.

"Well, you're not gettin' an answer from us!" Butch enlarged a Pokéball. "Go, Primeape!"

"And join him, Granbull!" Cassidy jumped into the fray.

"Come on, Flaaffy!" Leaf released her Electric-type, who confidently baa'd at the prospect of battle. "Use Rock Smash against Granbull!"

It was the first move, and Leaf had already pulled a surprising attack. Fighting-type moves were super effective against Normal-types, and while Rock Smash was one of the more mediocre Fighting-type attacks, it did its damage.

"Shake it off, Granbull!" Cassidy ordered. "Now use Take Down."

Figuring Leaf could take care of herself, Gary turned his attention to Butch and his Primeape.

"All right, Scizor, use Steel Wing!"

"Dodge and use Fire Punch!"

"_What_?"

Primeape was surprisingly fast, and he managed to jump out of the way before Steel Wing could get him. He promptly turned and punched Scizor under the jaw with his fiery fist, and the Pincer Pokémon flew up before crashing back down into the ground.

"No, Scizor!" It was a double whammy. Fire-type moves were strong against the Steel-type and the Bug-type, and Scizor was both. Nevertheless, Scizor struggled to stand again, ready to continue battling.

Meanwhile, Leaf's Flaaffy has managed to evade Granbull's Take Down, but Cassidy had a trick up her sleeve.

"All right, Granbull, use Earthquake!" she ordered with a smirk.

Granbull matched his trainer's expression as he jumped up and stomped on the ground with his two feet, leaving cracks in runway. The shock waves knocked not only Flaaffy and Scizor down, but also Leaf and Gary. Leaf experienced a far more painful fall, though, with her still-hurting scar. She hit her hip against the concrete, and she felt as though her bones had all been shaken. She curled into a fetal position, clutching her gut.

Cassidy's smirk turned more sinister. It was just as she had hoped.

"Granbull, go!"

The Fairy Pokémon let out an intimidating bark before getting down on all four limbs and running toward Flaaffy and her trainer. Yet, he leapt over the Electric-type and was headed straight for Leaf—but he met an ungraceful end as he suddenly rammed into the belly of a large Dragonite that had dropped from the sky, landing in front of the incapacitated girl.

Granbull shook his head before looking up at the Dragon-type. Dragonite was staring back down at the Granbull, and his expression was one of fury. He then began powering up a Hyper Beam, and Granbull let out several panicked yips before running back to his trainer.

A second Dragonite landed, though this one had a rider. Leaf looked up with bleary eyes. _Could it be... ?_

"How dare you," Lance thundered. "How _dare_ you even think of attacking my student?"

Gary pushed himself off the ground before staggering to his feet, staring after the Indigo Champion in shock. He then looked further in the distance to see the other Champions, as well as the Sinnoh elite, hurrying toward them. The plane that had flown over them earlier had been the one carrying them.

"S-She started it," Butch stammered, falling back.

"I don't care who started it," Lance spat. "I will end it."

The Sinnoh elite and the Champions soon had the agents surrounded. Cynthia was the last to join the circle; she had to maintain her own pace with her pregnancy. Gary also saw Candice's face among the crowd.

"Why are you here?" Lance demanded.

"Isn't it obvious?" Cassidy scoffed, gesturing toward Kyurem in the distance.

"I mean _here_, specifically," Lance clarified.

"W-We-" Butch was a nervous wreck as he fumbled around in his pockets. Lance's expression deadpanned, and he approached the male agent before grabbing him by the back of his shirt, forcing his head down, and picking out the PokéNav in his back pocket. A quick scroll through the contact list told Lance everything he needed.

"I see," he mused, his hand tightening around the device. "This'll be useful, later."

Gary went to Leaf, grasping her beneath the arms and lifting her up so she could lean against him instead of stay pathetically curled up on the ground. He leaned his head down slightly to try and get a read on her expression. She seemed more bewildered than anything, and with good reason.

Lance had used an important word, a word that changed her perspective.

'Student.'

She was still his student.

"Gary." Lance suddenly turned toward the Pallet trainer. "Where are the others?"

"Not entirely sure," Gary answered, after shaking off some initial apprehension. "Ash went toward the mountain. I don't know if anyone else went with him, because Leaf and I followed Butch and Cassidy here."

Lance's lips tightened.

"I suspected as much," he grumbled. "All right. Cynthia..."

The Sinnoh Champion straightened up, though she seemed mildly surprised. He, for the first time, was deferring to her; the Sinnoh elite were hers to command.

"Ah... Roark, Gardenia," Cynthia called her two gym leaders out by name. "Please see to it that Butch and Cassidy do not stir up any more trouble."

"Yes, ma'am!" Gardenia gave her a friendly salute.

Lance's eyes wandered over to Leaf, and her breath caught. Funnily enough, the first personal inquiry that crossed her mind was not whether he was angry with her, or relieved she was (relatively speaking) OK, or even if he had some task in mind for her; rather, she wondered how it looked to him to see Gary holding her in such a way.

"Cynthia," Lance spoke up again, "since you cannot join us in battle, take Leaf to the hospital and ensure she receives the proper medical care she needs."

Leaf ducked her slightly, trying to hide her eyes beneath her bangs.

"I will." Cynthia nodded. The blonde then turned to Candice. "Candice, why don't you stay to help me?"

"Um, yes, yes, sure!" Candice readily agreed, though she seemed mildly confused. However, her bemused expression was quickly replaced with a smile when she looked back toward Gary and Leaf. Gary suddenly realized the last time Candice had seen Leaf was when they were on the Ampharos Train, when the agent was bleeding to death. She must have been happy she was all right.

The remainder of the group began moving out, and Gardenia released her Tangrowth so its vines could wrap around Butch and Cassidy and keep them prisoner. Candice came to help Gary shoulder half of Leaf's weight, though the agent's eyes remained glued to Lance as he left.

The Indigo Champion, as if he had felt her gaze, flicked his eyes toward her. Leaf let out a breath. She could see the unsaid words running on the part of his mouth.

_I have left you in good hands._

* * *

Giovanni paced the cave anxiously, waiting. There were only perhaps four or five agents left with him. He had sent the rest down to recapture Kyurem, but he had received no word on their efforts. He was nervous, and he was beginning to wonder whether, despite his high hopes for the day, if it would be best to cut his losses, take Mewtwo, and regroup his efforts after another couple months.

But time would only give Lance the opportunity to find the other Team Rocket locations. The G-Men had disassembled two already. How much longer would it take for them to begin picking off the smaller bureaus and the larger Unova base?

The ring of his PokéNav drew him out of his thoughts, and he snatched it up to answer without checking the caller ID.

"Yes, hello?" he demanded.

"_Last month, you declared your intentions to take my seat to me by the phone, with the hope that you would inspire fear, incite despair._" Giovanni's mouth ran dry. He immediately recognized the voice. "_I thought it was only fair that I return the favor._"

The Team Rocket leader said nothing. He didn't know _what_ to say.

"_It's an honor, I suppose, to figure out that I am and always was your ultimate target,_" Lance continued. "_You've picked the wrong man to challenge, though, Giovanni. Leave the boy alone. You're mine._"

The call ended with a click. The line went dead, and Giovanni slowly dropped the phone to his side. A sense of dread fell upon him. Persian rubbed up against his leg, but Giovanni brushed him off as he turned to Mewtwo.

"Let's go," he said. The statement was also addressed toward the remaining Rocket agents. "There's nothing left for us here."

* * *

"Ash, quit moving so fast," Silver grumbled, trailing behind the Pallet trainer at an easier pace. "You'll tire yourself out."

Ash stopped and turned to face his brother. Meloetta stopped, too, having been gliding alongside him. Already, the Legendary had bonded with him. Silver supposed in the same way Ash drew people to him, Pokémon were drawn to him as well.

"Sorry," Ash sheepishly apologized. "I don't want to let Mewtwo and our father to get away, though, if they decide to bail."

"Why would he leave?"

"I don't know..." Ash trailed off. "'Cause if we're winning the battle down in the city, then he might get scared and decide not to stay."

Silver stared. The prospect of his father being 'scared' was entirely foreign to him. He had never seen him scared, just angry. Of course, in the years Silver had spent with his father, Team Rocket was climbing the ladder of power. Now, its hands were slipping, and it was on the verge of tumbling down.

"Would that be so terrible, though?" Silver asked. "The point was to prevent our father from gaining the Championship seat. Who cares if he goes? It means Lance gets to maintain his political power for a little longer."

Ash looked at him strangely.

"I care," he said simply, "not because of that, though. I care because of Mewtwo, because he's hurting, because he's depending on me—on us." He paused before adding, "And I know you care, too."

Silver scoffed before looking away.

"What would give you that impression?" he asked.

Ash shrugged.

"There has to be a reason Mewtwo sent me to you," he answered. The raven-haired boy then turned and continued heading up the trail, though he had now slowed to a far more maintainable pace.

Silver watched him for a long moment before following. However, as he moved forward, he heard some commotion behind him, and he turned his head to see a magenta tail of some kind sticking out from behind a rock. It quickly disappeared in a flash, though, and Silver shook his head, dismissing it as some sort of Pokémon.

Silver caught up to his brother, and they soon disappeared over the horizon. Jessie, James, and Meowth emerged from behind the boulder, looking after them.

**_November 7th, 1997. Afternoon. Viridian City._**

His mother had established very specific rules for Kamon at a young age, especially regarding his father. He was never to seek him out, and he was never to speak with him, for he was a very busy man. Kamon didn't even learn the identity of his father until he was perhaps 5 or 6-years-old, when he first saw Giovanni.

Ariana usually kept Kamon out of her business as an executive of Team Rocket. Therefore, the opportunity for Kamon to so much as see Giovanni simply didn't come—until one late evening, when Ariana was unable to find someone to care for her son last-minute. She and the other Rocket executives went to see off Giovanni on an important trip, the details of which Kamon couldn't remember.

What he could remember, however, was the piercing gaze Giovanni gave him as he passed by, on his way to his personal jet. He stopped entirely, pausing long enough to stare at him before his eyes wandered up to that of Ariana. Kamon shuffled behind his mother, unsure and perhaps a bit frightened. Giovanni then continued on his way without a word.

"Mom, why did he look me at like that?" Kamon said in a half-whisper after he was out of earshot, looking up at her curiously.

She didn't hesitate.

"Because you're his son."

From then on, Kamon began seeing his father more often in glimpses and brief meetings. He heard his voice, the low, deep bass that was suave when he was friendly but terrifying when he was angry. There were even a few instances in which Giovanni spoke to him, though he was never regarded as his child. It all made Kamon feel very strange; like he was unwanted, like he was a sore that simply wouldn't go away.

As he grew older and smarter, Kamon became more privy to the secretive knowledge of Team Rocket, but there was nothing quite like Project Legendary and the creation of Mewtwo. Kamon had gathered from bits and piece of conversation from his mother, father, and other Team Rocket executives that they were experimenting with cloning. He also heard stories of the Legendary Mew, and his curiosity drove him to the then-primitive Internet for information. The implications of such power in a person's hands—his father's or otherwise—disturbed him.

Kamon brought up his concerns with his mother, and she quickly grew infuriated, demanding how he knew anything about Project Legendary and, more importantly, how _much_ he knew. She was clearly upset to learn he had picked up much of the project's tenets, and she forbade him to speak of it further. Ariana must have also told Giovanni what Kamon knew, because further conversation between them adopted a more hostile tone than the civil distance his father formerly kept.

Yet, the fanfare associated with the Legendary clone's creation couldn't be contained, and immediately afterward, Ariana imposed new rules on Kamon about where he could and couldn't go in the base. It was then Kamon figured out Team Rocket's experimentation had been successful and that Mewtwo was in fact in the base in which Kamon spent so much of his time.

Kamon was never good at obeying his mother's stipulations, however, and the one time—the _only_ time—he saw Mewtwo was by accident.

Really, there were a lot of accidents that day.

Ariana was sitting at the desk, which was located in one of the upper floor of the Viridian City Gym, when she requested he find his father for her. It was unusual for his mother to ask Kamon to initiate any kind of contact with Giovanni, even if for business, but Kamon supposed he didn't care. He agreed to retrieve him. Yet, he didn't know that when he shut her office door, it would be the final time he ever saw her alive.

Kamon checked several places in search of his father—from his primary office under the skylight, to the training grounds behind the gym, to the gym's the battlefield itself. Giovanni was nowhere to be found. Kamon then concluded he must have been in the lower lab. Although it was one of the places Kamon was barred from visiting, he went down anyway, figuring he had his mother's OK.

Kamon soon realized exactly why he was disallowed from the lab. He had always suspected it, of course, but seeing Mewtwo standing motionless on the platform below was horrifically surreal. Kamon never did see exactly how Mewtwo looked with all the armor and helmet he was wearing, but it only served to make the Legendary all the more intimidating.

"I am not an animal you can gawk at."

Kamon was shocked to hear the Pokémon speak, and he recoiled back, knocking down a chair in the process. The fact Kamon couldn't see Mewtwo's eyes, much less his face, intensified his fear.

"S-Sorry," Kamon quickly apologized.

Mewtwo shifted slightly, the wires to which he was hooked up moving along with him. Kamon realized though he couldn't see Mewtwo well, Mewtwo could see everything about him—every detail of his expression, every twitch of his body. The boy got the unsettling feeling that Mewtwo was looking straight into his eyes.

"You are..." Mewtwo began, "... you are the son of that human. Of Giovanni."

"How can you tell?"

"I can see it in your face. You have been born to parents. You have an origin, a family. I have none." Mewtwo almost sounded jealous, and Kamon might have been curious had he not been trembling.

"Well, I wish I never was born," Kamon said. "It would be better to be alone. You don't want a family."

Mewtwo lifted his head slightly, and the light that poured down into the dim lab reflected off the front of his helmet. Kamon wasn't sure whether he'd said something to offend the clone, or if he was merely intrigued.

"Kamon!" The boy spun around when he heard his father angrily call him by name, a first. Giovanni grabbed Kamon by the back of his shirt and dragged him close to him before snarling, "What are you doing down here? I thought your mother-"

"She sent me to look for you!" Kamon blurted, but Giovanni wouldn't listen. He shoved the boy toward the door.

"Go back upstairs," his father growled. "Go back upstairs and never speak of this again."

Kamon did more than that. He took off immediately, not giving Mewtwo a second glance. He hurried back upstairs, down into the gym arena, out the door, and into the city. It was his first of many unsuccessful attempts to run away. Of his attempts, though, it was the first he ever went back of his own accord.

He was hardly two blocks away from the gym when he heard an explosion. He whipped his head around to see smoke ascending into the sky and Mewtwo rising out of it.

**_March 5th, 2002. Late Morning. Opelucid City._**

Dawn's Mamoswine was the only Pokémon capable of carrying Moltres on its back. Paul's Torterra also had the strength of doing so, but Moltres's flames, though weak, would have posed a threat to the foliage growing on his shell. Instead, the Continent Pokémon hosted Drayden's injured Salamence, since the group did not have the Dragon Master's Pokéball to return him.

Dawn was no longer holding onto Moltres's control device. It was being passed around among the trainers, who wanted to get a closer look at it. Zoey had been the one to notice that the material of which the device was made was rather unusual, and Paul took a better look and remarked it both resembled and felt like the armor of an Aggron. Professor Oak confirmed it was, then lamented how upset he was he had not noticed earlier, but commended Zoey and Paul for their observations.

"Do you hear that?" Barry suddenly inquired, pausing.

"You mean Kyurem? Yeah, we can all hear that," Kenny dismissed. "We can see him, too."

"No." Barry shook his head. "Sounds like... footsteps. A lot of footsteps."

It only took Paul a moment to process the sudden danger of the situation. They had suspected Team Rocket agents would come after them sooner or later, and Paul reached into his pockets to grab one of his Pokéballs—with his bad arm. He hissed again and accidentally dropped the Pokéball, and it bounced once before rolling away. Reggie sent his younger sibling a concerned, though alarmed look, unsure of what he was doing.

The answer soon came.

"You there!"

There were at least a dozen Team Rocket agents who rounded the corner, coming toward them. Yet, before any of the other trainers could reach for their Pokémon, a call for a Snover to use Ice Beam rang through the chilled air. Suddenly, the ground before the group of Rockets was covered in a thin, slippery sheet of ice, and they fell in an almost comical manner.

Then came Garchomp.

The large Dragon-type landed directly in front of the pack with a roar, and many of the agents recognized the iconic Pokémon of the Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia Stone. More than half of the Rockets immediately bailed with yelps of surprise and maybe even a scream or two.

"Hey! Wait, you all come back!" one of the female leaders of Rocket pack, Annie, called out. Garchomp, however, took a card out of Lance's Dragonite's book, and he began building up for a Hyper Beam. Annie and her sister immediately fell back, and they nodded to one another before taking off after their agents who had run away from the fight.

"That was... actually kind of pathetic," Gary's voice commented from behind the group of trainers. They turned around to see the young researcher with Candice, and the two were helping support the hurting Leaf. Cynthia was standing beside the three with a hand on her hip and a pair of furrowed eyebrows.

Candice immediately grinned when she saw Zoey among the pack, and she made sure Leaf was well-supported by Gary before running to throw her arms around her childhood playmate.

"Oh, I'm so happy you're OK!" Candice squeezed her tightly.

"It's barely been twenty-four hours since we last saw each other," Zoey chuckled.

Gary, meanwhile, gave a friendly salute to his grandfather while keeping a free arm wrapped around Leaf's waist, lest her knees buckle and she pass out. Now that the adrenaline associated with tracking down Butch and Cassidy was beginning to dissipate, she was feeling particularly sensitive.

"What a shame," Cynthia began with a frown. "If I were in the condition to do so, I would go after them. Garchomp, come back here."

Kenny looked at the Champion funny when she said 'condition,' and it took him a moment to realize what she possibly meant.

"Is she pregnant?" the male coordinator asked in a half-whisper, leaning toward Paul.

"Is the sky blue?" Paul muttered back. The pregnancy had grown quite pronounced on Cynthia's small frame, even though she still had several months to go.

"Hey, I know it's rude to ask a lady if she's pregnant, so I'm just looking for a second opinion." Kenny shrugged.

"Well, yes. She is," Paul affirmed.

"It's certainly good to see you all doing well," Cynthia said kindly, turning her attention to the young trainers. She patted her Garchomp on the nose as he approached, and her eyes wandered to Paul's limp arm. "Relatively speaking, at least."

"Cynthia," Reggie began seriously, "what about those Rocket agents that ran off? Should we go after them? Maybe Candice, Maylene, and I could go together."

"That won't be necessary," Cynthia answered. "They are fighting a losing battle, and they know it. Besides, they won't return if there is nothing to gain. Barry, please give me that in your hand."

The Sinnoh Champion had quickly identified the circular object as the control device, and Barry seemed rather excited Cynthia knew his name. He gave the device to her immediately, and she examined it for a long moment.

"That's made of Aggron armor," Professor Oak jumped in with an explanation. "Although illegal, the material is known for its incredible durability. Some have even called indesruct-"

Cynthia set the device on the ground and took several steps back.

"Garchomp, use Flamethrower," she calmly instructed. Garchomp was quick to obey, and he blew his heated flames onto the device until it turned hot white.

"Now Brick Break," Cynthia finished.

Garchomp raised its winged claw high into the air before slamming onto the device, irreparably splitting it into two halves.

* * *

Iris had never been afraid of heights. As a child, she would often climb the tallest tree in the Village of Dragons and swing her feet over the edge without so much as a blink of the eye, despite the protests and pleas of her friend, Shannon. Her friend would usually run to get help under the delusion that Iris was stuck like a Meowth, and Iris would simply laugh, grab onto a vine, and swing back down to catch up with her friend and assure her all was well.

Yet, seeing the city below her as Flygon soared higher and higher to match Kyurem was, admittedly, dizzying.

"So what's your plan?" Drew asked, looking over his shoulder. Flygon was rapidly approaching Kyurem now. There had been several times they had come close to catching up, but then the Legendary would change directions or pick up speed, and Flygon would be behind again. As awful as it was, Iris and Drew were half-wishing Kyurem would crash into a building or tower or _something_, purely so they could actually have a prayer of reaching him.

"I'm not sure," Iris confessed.

"That is not very comforting."

"Sorry! I know!" With one arm still wrapped around the coordinator's waist, Iris pressed her hand to her forehead in thought. "OK, so I have to understand him... _how_?"

Kyurem changed direction again, but for the first time, he was coming straight toward the two. Drew quickly directed Flygon to fly under the massive Dragon-type to avoid a collision, and the Ground-type practically had to do a nosedive to miss the Legendary. One of Kyurem's claws almost skewered the trainers, and Flygon, in the snap defense of Drew, looked at the creature above him and unleashed DragonBreath. The bluish flames burned the underbelly of Kyurem, and the Legendary roared in pain.

"Don't! Don't! You'll just upset him more!" Iris panicked.

"Flygon, knock it off!" Drew ordered.

They came out from under Kyurem, who turned to face Flygon and the two trainers. Flygon's attack had gained the Legendary's attention, but not in the way they wanted. Kyurem now saw them as a threat, rather than an aid.

Kyurem stretched out his crooked wings and looked toward the sky, crying out to it. Drew quirked an eyebrow, and even Flygon seem befuddled.

"What's he doing?" he asked.

Iris didn't respond for a long moment and she also looked to the sky, noticing the dark clouds that were gathering. She inhaled sharply. She recognized this move, and there was _nothing_ she could do to stop it. The air seemed to turn impossibly cold in a matter of seconds, and it began to snow. Then Kyurem beat his wings rapidly, creating an artificial windstorm.

"_Blizzard_!" Iris cried, ducking her head into Drew's back.

Flygon could not stand to keep up in the air with strong wind and ice. He was jostled around for a bit before being knocked off his balance entirely. He began spiraling toward the ground, and Iris screamed as memories of _that day_ began to flood her consciousness.

"_Hamēṁ akēlā chōd dō_!" The voice of a child rose in her throat, and there she was again, in the storm that had stolen her parents away from her ten years earlier.

She tried to stand. Yet, her pleas for the Dragon-type to stop, to leave her innocent family alone, went unheard. The temperatures had dried her throat, the weight of the weather had left her weak, and she swore she could feel the ghost of her parents' frozen arms draped around her shoulders. She didn't know they were dead then. She had lost an awareness of her surroundings, of Kyurem, of herself.

The cold consumed her, and she buried her face into the snow, hiding away from the glowing, yellow eyes that would haunt her for years. Then came her savior—a pair of warm, living arms that pulled her from her icy grave.

"Iris, _pull yourself together_!"

Except it was not Drayden who saved her this time, and it took Iris a moment to discern her past from her present. Rather, Drew had raised her up, and his hands remained firmly placed on her shoulders. She blinked, not understanding as she glanced down at her feet, at the snow that covered them. They were on the ground. How did they so safely land?

Then she saw a woman with pinkish hair and her Slowbro standing off to the side. Iris remembered this was Solidad, the Kanto coordinator who had been at the Ketchum residence during Christmas. There were many others coming, too. The storm became a gathering point. Many of the elite trainers who had spread through the city were drawn to the chaos.

She had lost herself again. In her fear, she had not known it was Slowbro's Psychic had caught the free-falling Flygon, easing him and the two trainers to the ground.

Realization suddenly dawned upon her, and her eyes widened.

Lost.

Lost.

Lost.

_Lost._

The revelation couldn't have come at a better time, and she was surprised the answer had taken so long to come to her. After all, she should have known better than anyone.

She stood motionless for a long moment, processing, when she suddenly saw the Flamethrower of Grimsley's Houndoom cut through the storm and hit Kyurem's knee. Several other gym leaders and Elite Four members quickly joined in. Elesa and Watson's Electric-type Pokémon took advantage of the storm clouds, and their Zebstrika and Manectric used them to command their own violent lightning storms, directing the strikes toward the Dragon-type.

"Stop!" The plea tore out of Iris's mouth, almost angrily. "Stop! The fighting makes him remember!"

She ripped herself away from Drew and ran toward the present elite, waving her arms and repeating herself over and over again.

"What would suggest in this situation then, girlie?" Roxie, the Poison-type specialist, sneered as she pulled out one of her own Pokéballs.

"Not battling him," Iris persisted. "Don't you see? He's scared, and he'll only become more aggressive and more powerful if we feed into that fear by attacking him! Fighting is not the answer here!"

They stared at her, and Elesa straightened up in surprise. Her words were strikingly familiar to the mantra of their Champion—the Unova Champion—Alder. The resemblance, for the oddest reason, burrowed deep inside of her, and she felt as though the similarity were no coincidence. She commanded her Pokémon to stand down. Her fellow elite looked at her in surprise. The girl held no authority over them; in fact, they all held authority over _her_.

Yet, Elesa's withdrawal from battle still prompted them to draw back as well, giving Iris the chance to complete the task Drayden had set before her. She then turned toward the Legendary and, gathering every ounce of courage in her, ran up to him and threw her arms wide open.

"Kyurem! Kyurem, _band karō_!" she shouted up at him. Her voice was nearly muted by the storm. "I know you're hurting. I know you are sad. I know you have parts of you that are missing. I understand now. It must hurt to not have Zekrom and Reshiram with you anymore. I understand, because my parents aren't with me anymore, and I've felt parts of me have been lost without them."

Solidad gasped, and she gestured for her Slowbro to follow her, apparently intending to save Iris from her foolish, idealistic intentions. But Drew was quick to intervene.

"No, stop!" he called to her. She looked at him, appalled.

"Drew, your friend is in danger!"

"Give her a moment," Drew persisted.

"But I'm OK!" Iris continued, her voice cracking slightly. "There are parts of them, of my origin, that I will carry with me forever. _Mujhko_ _unkī bhāṣā hein. _More importantly, I know that there are people who love and care about me still, and there are people who love and care about you. _I_ care about you. So please, calm down!"

Hardly anyone seemed to think Iris's pacifist approach would work, and a few gym leaders appeared to be gearing up to rescue the girl since Solidad hadn't. Then, a miracle occurred.

Kyurem listened.

The winds began to die down. The blizzard lessened to a light snowfall, and then to nothing at all. Kyurem was starting down at Iris, but she was not intimidated. Her expression remained firm, though caring.

Kyurem descended to earth, landing in front of the girl.

"_I recognize you._"

The voice of the Dragon-type was heard by all, and it sent everyone reeling. None there had ever heard the voice of a Legendary, and it was as brilliant an experience as it had been for so few before them. Drew let out a shaky breath. He thought he had grown used to the 'the impossible' happening. The world still surprised him, though.

Iris swallowed and smiled crookedly, and she cautiously approached him with an outstretched hand. She very gently touched the icy tip of Kyurem's nose, tentatively rubbing it. Kyurem lowered his head, sadness beginning to fill his empty yellow eyes, the same she had always believed were devoid of emotion.

"_I'm sorry._"

"_Maiṁ tumhēṁ māpha._" Iris's smile widened just the slightest bit before she hugged him. "I forgive you."

* * *

"Ugh! Just as I thought!" Oakley scoffed. "They've abandoned us! Run off! Cowards, all of them. They don't deserve to be a part of Team Rocket, do they Annie?"

Oakley glanced to her older sister but was surprised to see her older sister distracted. Earlier, they had seen storm clouds gather near Kyurem in another part of town, but they were too far away and too unequipped to deal with it. Now the clouds were clearing up, and Kyurem had landed. Oakley soon realized the implications behind such, and they weren't in their favor.

"Should we go for reinforcements?" Oakley proposed.

"There are none," Annie answered darkly. "We're finished."

Oakley was prepared to protest that notion, but she was interrupted when she heard a cry of "Cross Poison!" from her left. She quickly dodged as a Crobat came at her with its purplish wings aglow.

"Brock, careful!" Tracey called as he and his companions caught up with the former Pewter City Gym Leader. "We don't want to actually hurt them!"

"I know," Brock agreed with a quick nod. "I just-"

"Espeon, go!" Annie called out her loyal Psychic-type, unwilling to go down without a fight. "Use Psybeam!"

"Use Acid Spray!"

Alder's Accelgor swept onto the scene, and he sprayed his foe's face with the poisonous substance. Espeon fell back with a mewl. She pawed at her face, trying to get the awful burning sensation out of her eyes.

"Espeon, get over it! I know you can keep battling!" Annie fumed.

"No, I'm afraid this battle is over." Steven maintained his usual, mellow attitude as he spoke, perhaps because he didn't need to be intimidating. His Metagross more than made up for it, as the Steel-type stalked toward the two Rocket agents menacingly.

"You have two options," Steven continued, coming up beside Metagross. "You may stay and fight a losing battle. Or, you can make it easier for everyone, including yourselves, if you leave and let us attend to our business without interruption."

Oakley scoffed at the notion.

"It would be shameful to run like a Herdier with its tail between its legs!" she exclaimed, lifting one of her Pokéballs.

"It would be more shameful to horrendously lose a battle in front of so many," Steven replied. The Sinnoh elite, in addition to the other Champions, were coming up behind him. "Leave."

Oakley appeared mortified. Annie's bottom lip trembled, and she called back her Espeon before standing up straight. The blonde then looked directly toward Lance, who had pressed to the forefront of the crowd after catching up.

"You may have won the battle, Lance," she said, "but not the war."

"Team Rocket will be no more after today. The war is ours."

"But the plagues of society that built its power, those won't go away." Lance raised an eyebrow. It was interesting to hear a high-ranking Team Rocket member admit what so many denied, to speaking truthfully rather than opt to cling to their fantasies. "You have a long fight ahead of you."

She then promptly turned around, robotically walking away. Oakley did a double-take between her and Lance, shocked her sister had given up. Yet, she followed, too, and as soon as they were gone, Lance let out a long sigh.

"When did you all arrive?" Brandon asked after a brief silence.

"Very, very recently," Wallace answered. "I presume you're here because of... ?"

"Ash?" Brock answered for him. "Yes, that's it."

"Then let's not waste another second of precious time," Lance said before moving forward.

* * *

The back of the car was a tight squeeze. Giovanni sat up front in the passenger's side with his Persian, while four agents, plus Mewtwo, occupied the back. Mewtwo didn't seem to show any discomfort in the situation however (no one would be able to tell with his helmet, anyway), as his hands rested on his armored knees.

The four agents were pressed up against the doors, scared to so much as touch the clone. They had seen his power, and they didn't want to upset him. They failed to understand he would not do anything without the Boss's prompting.

The car came to a sudden stop, and the agents knocked heads. Some groaned in pain, others rubbed forming bumps. None of them had been safely fastened by their seat belts, since there were not enough. Mewtwo didn't move an inch.

"What is the meaning of this?" Giovanni angrily spat.

The agents looked ahead to see a Feraligatr and Infernape standing in the middle of the road, directly in front of the car. Just standing, nothing else. The driver honked the horn once, twice. The two Pokémon didn't budge. Giovanni's already thin patience snapped.

"Mewtwo, take care of them," he growled.

The Rocket agents on the left side of the car scrambled to exit, so they could let Mewtwo out. Mewtwo stiffly rose up before looking toward his two opponents. They seemed undaunted, as they stared back with determined expressions.

Then, in one swift movement, Mewtwo sent a large Shadow Ball toward the two Pokémon, and they jumped out of the way. The path for the car was now cleared, and Giovanni wanted to call back Mewtwo, believing that lingering behind any longer would bring nothing but trouble. But then Infernape launched toward Mewtwo with Mach Punch, and it became clear they were in for a battle.

Yet, Mewtwo dispelled Giovanni's anxieties as he caught Infernape's offending fist, stopping the Fire-type dead in his tracks. Giovanni realized though it was likely these Pokémon belonged to some trainers, perhaps a couple of the elite, there was no way they could overtake Mewtwo. The clone was under his control, and as long as that wasn't shaken, he and his few remaining Rocket agents were safe.

Mewtwo then threw Infernape back into Feraligatr, and the two fell in a heap.

Giovanni smiled.

"Excellent work, Mewtwo," he began. "Now let's-"

"-No, Infernape!" Giovanni eyes widened when he heard the voice.

Ash Ketchum ran out from hiding to assist the fallen Pokémon with his infamous Pikachu on his heels. He lifted up his injured Infernape, checking for any serious damage. The Flame Pokémon's fist, the one Mewtwo had gripped, was dark with black bruises, and it appeared to be shaking. Ash feared Mewtwo might have broken some of the bones.

"You OK, Infernape?" Ash asked anyway. Infernape nodded with a grin, and he attempted to stand. Ash then looked to Feraligatr. "What about you Feraligatr?"

"Gatr," Feraligatr replied simply, dusting himself off.

From behind him, Ash heard the angry screech of a cat, and he turned to see Persian leaping at him with Shadow Claw. Grabbing Pikachu, he quickly dove out of the way, narrowly missing the Normal-type's vicious attack.

"Well, well." Ash breathed in sharply when he opened his eyes. He found himself at the feet of Giovanni. "I was wondering if you would come. It would have been disappointing if Ash Ketchum, the Chosen One, didn't try to live up to his name."

Ash scuttled back in the dirt before standing back up with Pikachu still in his arms.

"You let Mewtwo go!" he demanded.

Giovanni guffawed, finding it pathetic.

"Really? That's your approach?" he laughed. Persian came back to his side, and Giovanni affectionately scratched him behind the ear. "Well, I'm afraid to say that's no option. You're a fool to think you could come up here by yourself and find success. I do not underestimate the power of youth, but they are so very deluded by their ideals." His gaze flicked up toward Mewtwo. "I've had enough of this. Mewtwo, use Shadow Ball once again."

Before Mewtwo could even begin storing energy for the attack, a discharge of electricity shot in the clone's direction. Mewtwo deflected it into the ground with Mirror Coat.

"Leave him alone!" Silver snarled, coming up behind Ash with his Magneton.

Giovanni let out an angry, though surprised breath.

"Kamon," he growled. "What are you-"

"-Kamon?" Ash looked at Silver with raised eyebrows. The red-haired boy's head snapped toward the Pallet trainer.

"You be quiet," Silver hissed. "You weren't supposed to blow our cover yet. The whole idea of a 'surprise attack' doesn't work if it's not timed right, and you were way off."

"Ah, that's right," Giovanni interjected suddenly, regaining the two boys' attention. "I had almost forgotten that you two teamed up. I heard about it from Domino and Petrel. Of course, I am curious as to why."

"If you weren't so selfish and had any sense of genuine human interest, you might already know that answer," Silver shot back.

"Now, Kamon, is that any way to speak to your father?" Giovanni shook his head. "I know you and I never particularly knew or even liked each other, especially since your mother's death... but you are mine, and I had hoped you would inherit my place in Team Rocket someday. Then came that incident at the Lake of Rage, and you betrayed the trust of many of my own Team Rocket agents, thus putting your future in jeopardy. But that's all behind us. Come with me now, and we could build Team Rocket back up from the bottom again, together."

"I am not _yours_." Silver didn't seem at all tempted by the sweet words and seemingly gracious offer.

Giovanni frowned.

"Well, if that's the case..." He rose a hand and snapped his fingers. The five remaining Team Rocket agents, including the driver, scrambled to surround the two boys and their Pokémon. Each of the five released their respective Pokémon: a Rhydon, Ninetales, Shiftry, Vespiquen and Throh. "I'm sure I can convince you, Kamon, to rejoin me. Ash, you are but an obstacle, and I am in a hurry." Giovanni then looked toward his Rocket agents. "Treat it as such."

The Team Rocket leader then took a step back as the five agents began to close in on the young trainers, with the intent to dispose of Ash but to capture Silver—a fate that was, at least to Silver, worse than death. Pikachu jumped down, his cheeks sparking.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash ordered.

Pikachu had intended its show of electricity to hit as many targets as possible, yet it immediately redirected toward Rhydon's horn and fizzled. Rhydon scratched his face, as though it had tickled.

"That's the ability, Lightningrod," Silver informed.

"Yeah, yeah, I know what it is," Ash said. He seemed stressed and therefore irritable for the first time on their long journey. "All right, Infernape, then use Flamethrower against Shiftry! Pikachu, Iron Tail against Throh!"

"Feraligatr, use Brick Break with Rhydon!" Silver added. "Magneton, use-" He mentally stumbled when he remembered his Magneton couldn't use Electric-type moves. Ninetales seemed to know this, and she used Fire Blast, taking the Steel-type down with one hit.

Shiftry ducked below Infernape's flames, and while they singed his white fur, he used Low Sweep to knock the Fire-type off his feet. Vespiquen then came up from behind and kept Infernape down with Air Slash.

Feraligatr charged toward Rhydon, but the Ground-type caught Feraligatr's arms, and the two were stuck in a match of strength.

Pikachu jumped up, prepared to come down on Throh with his silvery tail, but the Fighting-type grabbed the small Mouse Pokémon by the same appendage. Pikachu let out a cry as he dangled up in the air.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried out in concern.

The Ninetales suddenly turned on the Pallet Trainer, baring her teeth. Silver took a step back, his eyes darting around wildly.

"Anytime, Meloetta," Silver muttered under his breath, though he knew it was no good. Giovanni wasn't even using Mewtwo to attack, and they were being overwhelmed.

Silver reached for another Pokéball just as Ninetales was about to leap toward his brother, but he was beat to the punch. From above, an Amoonguss seemed to come out of nowhere, landing on top of the Fox Pokémon with Body Slam. Ash stared in shock, knowing the Grass-type might have very well just saved his life—but who was its trainer?

"To protect the world from devastation!" a female voice rang from above.

Ash let out a shaky breath as he looked up at the cliffside above them.

"No. _Way_." He suddenly grinned, and Silver shot him a bemused look.

"To unite all people within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"This isn't even how the motto goes..." one of the Team Rocket agents surrounding Ash and Silver mumbled, leaning toward his coworker.

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jessie!" The female Team Rocket agent—_former_ Team Rocket agent—struck a pose.

"James!" Her companion did the same.

"A trio of friends, blasting off at the speed of light!" Jessie suddenly stepped forward, sliding down the dirt slope to directly confront the agents plus Ash and Silver.

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!" James quickly followed suit.

"Meowth, dat's right!" Meowth jumped onto his human companions' shoulders. He then placed his front paws down and unexpectedly jumped toward Persian with a particularly ferocious showing of Fury Swipes. The attack, in addition the impact that came with Meowth landing on Persian's head, caused the evolved Pokémon to quickly go down.

"Who's da top cat, now?" Meowth quipped with a smirk as he rose triumphantly, still standing on top of the unconscious Persian. "Dat's right, I- gah!"

Giovanni snatched Meowth up by the scruff of his neck, glaring at him. Meowth yelped and began kicking and swinging his arms, trying to escape.

"What game are you fools playing?" he demanded.

"No game, Boss—er, Giovanni!" James retorted.

"Right!" Jessie agreed. "We're just here to even the playing field!" She then sent a wink Ash's way, and he gave her a thumbs-up. Silver still seemed entirely lost.

Feraligatr took advantage of everyone's distraction, and he returned his focus to Rhydon. Intensifying his grip, the Water-type let out a loud, labored grunt as he flipped over the Drill Pokémon. Feraligatr then pressed a foot onto the Ground-type, forcing his horn into the ground. Once Pikachu realized what Feraligatr had done, his cheeks began sparking once again, and he used Thunder. Throh cried out—the close range with Pikachu made the attack all the more painful—and he fell flat onto his back, letting Pikachu's tail go.

"Yeah, Pikachu!" Ash celebrated before calling his partner back to him. Meanwhile, Jessie's Frillish took on Vespiquen with Bubblebeam, and James's Amoonguss used Faint Attack against Shiftry. Meowth turned his neck and bit Giovanni on the hand, prompting the Team Rocket leader to drop the Normal-type back to the ground. Meowth quickly ran back to his companions.

Giovanni was seething at this point.

"I've had enough of this!" he thundered as he shook his bleeding hand. Meowth had broken skin. "An even playing field, you say? Not even close. Mewtwo, use-"

He paused, breathing in sharply when he saw the fated small, pale Pokémon with light blue eyes and long, mint green hair peering out at the scene from behind a rock.

"Use Psychic against that Pokémon there!" Giovanni directed his attention to Meloetta.

"No, Meloetta!" Ash cried in response, whipping his head around. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt! Try to stop Mewtwo!"

Yet, Mewtwo simply deflected the Electric-type attack back toward Pikachu with Mirror Coat, doubling the damage. Pikachu cried out and fell to the ground, twitching. Mewtwo then went straight for Meloetta, and the tiny Legendary let out a muted gasp before quickly and gracefully jumping up on top of the boulder behind which she previously hid. Mewtwo plowed into the cliffside, though he hardly seemed affected.

Meloetta's gentle expression suddenly became unusually determined, and she began singing an unusual incantation that drew confused stares from all the surrounding trainers and Pokémon. Her green hair suddenly turned bright orange, and her blue eyes became red. Her brown upper body transformed, flaring out like fire rather than a wilted flower. She had transitioned from her Aria forme into her Pirouette forme, and she was ready for battle.

She promptly went after Mewtwo with Close Combat. Her attacks did no actual damage to the clone with his armor, but her continual onslaught managed to make a tiny crack in Mewtwo's helmet. Mewtwo stopped her with Psychic, however, and threw her straight into the cliffside.

"Meloetta!" Ash called out to the Legendary as he scooped Pikachu up into his arms.

"Well, that didn't last long," Giovanni chuckled, seemingly amused. Ash gritted his teeth and looked toward the clearing dust to see that Meloetta had transformed back into her Aria forme. She was still conscious, but she was also clearly weak. Psychic-type moves were effective against the Fighting-type.

"Meloetta, you have to sing!" he pleaded. "You have to use your song!"

Meloetta nodded as she staggered to her feet. She took in a deep breath before allowing her sweet, soothing melody to pass her lips.

Everything seemed to stop. The Pokémon who were still engaged in battle quit their fighting so they could listen. Pikachu stirred, turning his head slightly toward the Legendary, as though the song had revived him. Mewtwo, who had been planning to attack Meloetta again and knock her out, stood motionless.

Giovanni's jaw tightened. Then, he felt a ball of dread congeal at the bottom of his stomach when he heard other voices approaching—one of which distinctly belonged to Lance.

"Snap out of it Mewtwo," Giovanni hissed, "and used Shadow Ball!"

Mewtwo was slow to obey, but he did. He used Shadow Ball, ending Meloetta's spellbinding song.

"Now, get the boy!" Giovanni continued. Mewtwo turned, though he seemed woozy. His mind was fuzzy, and his thoughts were distorted; for the first time in nearly two months, he _had_ thoughts. Thoughts that were his own, thoughts that didn't belong to anyone else.

Mewtwo knew Giovanni meant Ash, but he was so addled, that when he jumped forward to attack the trainer, he headed for Silver instead.

"No!" Ash dropped Pikachu and tackled Mewtwo before he could reach his brother.

"Oh Arceus, Ash!" Silver yelled after the Pallet trainer.

Lance, Brock and the others arrived just in time to see Ash go over the cliff with Mewtwo, over perhaps a 25-foot drop. At the bottom, Mewtwo's helmet split open, and he was free.

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	30. XXVII: In Which Brock Washes His Hands

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Chapter XXVII: In Which Brock Washes His Hands

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**_March 5th, 2002. Noon. Opelucid City._**

"Well, Ms. Green," the doctor began with a tad of confusion in his voice. "It appears you're good to go. There's nothing more we can do for you, except write you a prescription for something stronger than Aguavite. Get lots of rest, drink plenty of fluids, and _no more running_. You must give your abdominal muscles time to heal. It's different for everyone, but I estimate you'll be feeling up to speed anywhere from three to five weeks if you take it easy."

Leaf had one of the most unusual cases the doctor had ever seen in his twenty years of practice. When he first saw her scar—and my, was it _large_—he had to ask Gary Oak, her companion, to repeat how long ago she sustained the injury.

"Yesterday morning," Gary said again, and the doctor shook his head. No, that was impossible, he insisted. He could not fathom how what was obviously once a large wound sealed up so quickly. He continued to poke and prod her, asking her if it hurt and receiving annoyed responses that, yes, it did with him pressing against the sensitive areas.

Gary then proceeded to explain that a Sunflora's Synthesis had helped heal the wound, which the doctor still found befuddling. Yet, Gary's grandfather, Professor Oak, merely chortled.

"There are many mysteries to Pokémon that we still don't understand," he had said. "I suppose Leaf is lucky that Nando had unraveled another when she fell into his care."

The doctor seemed unconvinced, and he ordered she be administered a Tetanus shot to be safe. He wished he could have kept her longer for observation (it truly, truly was an unusual case), but he had many other patients to which he needed to attend. The city was in chaos, and there were troves of civilians pouring in with injuries, some minor, some a little more serious.

"Thank you, Dr. Dansforth." Leaf struggled to sit up, and Gary had to support her lower back with his hand. Cynthia swept into the room as they were preparing to leave. The Sinnoh Champion had disappeared, apparently, to put in a call to the Nuvema Town Police Station. She didn't say why, and no one asked.

"Are you well?" Cynthia asked, addressing Leaf.

"Fine. I always knew I was fine," the agent replied. "Let's get my prescription, sign out, and get to the Pokémon Center. Unless..."

She glanced toward Paul, who lying flat on his back on the cot beside her. The emergency room was sectioned off into small pods, each being divided by a pale green curtain. Gary had pulled the curtain aside so they could carry on conversation with the two Rebolledo brothers. Maylene was already off at the Pokémon Center.

"It's fine," Paul dismissed. "Go on without us. We'll catch up later, after I'm released."

"Do let us know the results of your X-ray," Cynthia said kindly.

"I'm sure news will come back to you sooner or later."

After the group waved them off with a few utterances of "see ya" and "catch you later," Paul lolled his head to the side and sighed, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in his arm. Dr. Dansforth had offered him some Morphine, but Paul refused, citing that he wanted to remain awake. So, he was given some Aguavite to hold him over, but as with Leaf last night on the plane, the effects of the medication were taking some time to kick in.

Reggie frowned, tilting his head slightly as he watched his younger sibling.

"Are you OK, Paul?"

Paul gave the breeder an odd look.

"... No," he said, as though it were obvious.

"I understand your arm's possibly broken, so you're not OK in that sense," Reggie clarified. "I meant that... well, you seem a little distant right now."

The answer to that, Paul felt, should have been obvious, too. Reggie had a tendency to read into things a bit too much, sometimes rightfully so, other times when the reason—or reasons—were quite simple. Reggie had yet to provide a good explanation as to why Brandon was there in Opelucid City, how they were on good terms, and most of all, why Reggie had called him 'Dad.' Paul knew the conditions of his and Reggie's relationship with their estranged parent, and the familiarity with which Brandon treated him and his brother was a violation. Not that Paul was complaining. He just didn't like feeling out of the loop, and something had definitely happened in the two months he'd been gone.

Well, there was his 'death.' Paul didn't doubt that was a factor, but still, there had to be more to the story. Brandon already knew Paul was alive when they met near the scene of the battle with Moltres.

Aside from Paul's personal issues, however, he was also concerned with matters that were perhaps much less recognizable to his older sibling. Reggie would never guess that he was worried about his other companions, the ones who were still out there in the throes of battle, the ones who were still unaccounted. Clearly, Leaf and Gary were fine. He also knew with assurity that his own group—Misty, Ritchie, Zoey, Barry, Kenny, and Dawn—were safe. Upon Leaf's inquiry, Reggie exchanged a few text messages with Maylene and found out May, Trip, Cilan, and his two brothers were at the Pokémon Center, too. Cynthia received word that, by some miracle, Drew and Iris had managed to tame the furious Kyurem and were on their way to the hospital unharmed.

Then there was Silver and Ash. No one had heard anything about them. For all Paul knew, they could still be battling Mewtwo and Giovanni near Kyurem's cave, and the mere thought burrowed a sense of utter uselessness into Paul as he laid passively on his hospital bed.

"Don't make much of it," Paul finally answered.

Reggie sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"How did you break your arm anyway?" he asked.

Paul shrugged.

"The usual."

That, Paul knew, was _not_ an obvious answer. In fact, it was almost unfair to Reggie. He had no idea Paul had made a habit of defending or protecting his friends, even at the potential risk of his own wellbeing, within the past couple of months.

Paul suddenly scowled. _Friends_. He'd attached such a negative connotation to the word for so many years that the thought sounded ugly... even if it did feel nice.

"Let's quit stalling," Paul muttered, changing the subject. "What's the deal with you and Dad?"

Reggie was waiting for Paul to bring it up. He didn't want to force the conversation, especially since, Reggie imagined, Paul already had so many other things on his mind. He was hoping he'd ask, though. Reggie wanted to talk to Paul alone on this matter, without Brandon, without Maylene, before they inevitably convened to discuss it as a family.

"Well..." Reggie began in a matter of fact tone, "by any chance, in the several months you've been on this journey, did you hear anything about something called 'Project Legendary?'"

Paul stared. Something clicked in his mind, and his jaw tightened.

"Yeah," he said. "I've heard of it."

* * *

Iris's hands began shaking when she walked through the double doors of the hospital with Drew following closely behind. After Kyurem had sufficiently calmed down, she turned over the reins of the situation to Solidad and the other elite—with Kyurem's approval, of course. She didn't want to leave him in a situation with which he was uncomfortable, but he condoned her leaving to take care of her other affairs.

Besides, he fell asleep shortly before she left. Rampaging through the city was exhaustive work, apparently. Watching the massive Dragon-type lie down and doze off in the most unassuming, nonthreatening, perhaps even innocent manner—in the middle of the city, no less—nearly made Iris question why she'd ever feared a creature that could be so surprisingly... endearing?

Pokémon were strange, all right.

Yet, she couldn't linger on that any longer. With one problem solved, she now sought to ease the troubles that still ailed her mind.

"Hello?" Iris clung to the edge of the counter desperately, leaning toward one of the hospital's receptionists. "I'm wondering if you have a patient named Drayden Grayson here? Is he all right? Could we visit?"

The receptionist seemed a bit bewildered, but before she could reply, Iris heard a familiar voice call out to her.

"Iris!"

The girl straightened up in surprise. Then, she melted into a smile before spinning around to see several of her companions and rivals approaching.

"Cilan!" she exclaimed before throwing her arms around the connoisseur. Her concerns temporarily withered away with the discovery that her friends—at least, a small chunk of them—were OK. "Wow, what a relief! Did you guys take care of that control device?"

Cilan chuckled before returning her affectionate embrace.

"May's friend, that Harley character, has it," he replied. "I think he was going to try his hand at destroying it with his Wigglytuff. If not, then he was going to find someone who could. I spoke with Kenny and Barry earlier, and they said Cynthia's Garchomp managed to damage the one controlling Moltres beyond repair." He pulled away from her with a wave of his hand. "But never mind that! A relief to see us? I think the bigger relief is to see that you two are all right!"

"Yeah, I was thinking Kyurem was going to turn you into a popsicle treat when you left," Georgia added snidely, though it was clear she was relieved, too.

Seeing her, Burgundy, Stephan, Bianca, and Luke suddenly struck Iris with remembrance.

"Oh no," she breathed before backing away, facing the whole group. "Drayden. Is Drayden all right?"

"Don'cha worry yourself, Iris," Stephan said with a grin. "He's gonna be fine. The doc pumped him full of pain meds and now he's just sleepin'."

"_Oui_," Burgundy added, "and it's all thanks to our efforts to carry him here."

"Which required all five of us, by the way," Luke said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. "He's kind of a big, burly guy..."

"Wait..." Drew began slowly, turning his attention more directly toward Cilan, Cress, Chili, and Trip. "So when did you guys get here?"

"Very, very recently," Cress said. "We first went to the Pokémon Center, and then we came here to see if we could catch up with this motley crew." He gestured toward the Unova rivals. Georgia raised an eyebrow, and Iris stifled a laugh.

"Well, where's May? Wasn't she with you?"

"Yeah, she's still at the center," Trip answered. He was tempted to roll his eyes. _Of course_ Drew was thinking about May. "Her Blaziken needed some attention. We got in a scrape with a group of Team Rocket agents. Everything's OK on our end, though."

"In that case, then," Drew began, peeling away from the group, "I suppose I'll head over there and-"

The final words of his sentence were drowned out by the siren of an ambulance as it pulled up near the entrance.

* * *

Max couldn't seem to stop talking, which was amusing in its own right. Zoey had leaned over to Dawn and Candice and mentioned it must have run in the family, while flicking her head toward May. She also spent much of the time talking, and it was as though the two siblings were competing to get in their next question or answer. It was understandable, anyway, since it was the first time in months May and Max had spoken to each other, and the talkative brother and sister had always been close.

"-Wait, wait," May cut Max off for the umpteenth time, this time while he was explaining how he and his parents had gotten to Opelucid City. "Speaking of which, where are Mom and Dad?"

"Oh?" Max adjusted his glasses. "Last I saw them, they were battling a couple of Team Rocket agents. I left them 'cause they obviously had the battle in the bag, and I wanted to find you. Lucky I did, huh?"

May laughed in response.

"Yes, we sure are lucky!" she said.

Misty smiled at the two, finding it sweet. She, herself, was wedged between Violet and Lily. Each had a hold on the redhead's arms, pulling her toward them in opposite directions. It was, Misty realized, a bit of a metaphor for how she was feeling at the moment. Her mind was being tugged apart by several concerns. First, there was Daisy, though perhaps that one was relatively minor, since the blonde was in company of several fantastic trainers, who would more than make up for her lack of battling ability. Second, there was her Gyarados. Misty would trust a Nurse Joy with her life, but the center was in a frenzy with how many Pokémon needed care—from Moltres, to May's Blaziken, to Drayden's Salamence, to dozens of other Pokémon hurt from the various battles in which they had engaged all over the city.

Then there was Ash.

Sitting across from Delia in the Pokémon Center's lobby made it all the more unbearable. Although the mother was trying to keep a strong front, it was clear to anyone paying attention that she was worried. Misty didn't blame her. She was worried, too. Even though there was help on the way, Ash and Silver had a head start. What if something happened and that help arrived too late?

Maylene's phone interrupted both Misty's thoughts and May and Max's conversation. The Veilstone Gym Leader picked it up, going into her inbox. She and her fiancé had been exchanging messages for a while at that point.

"Ah! Reggie sent me the results of Paul's X-ray," Maylene said. Everyone's eyes immediately went to her, waiting. "He has a hairline fracture in his arm. The doctor is fitting him for a sling."

She held out her phone to several of the teens. Reggie had snapped a picture of the X-ray. There appeared to be a thin crack in the bone.

"Whoa," Barry marveled with a grin. "Nice goin', Paul."

Dawn pressed her lips down into a thin line. While she was glad the injury was minor, she couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt seep into her consciousness. Zoey's eyes flicked toward her, as if she could tell what the Twinleaf coordinator was thinking.

"Tell 'em we hope to see him soon," Ritchie added.

The double doors to the center suddenly flew open, and several familiar faces came rushing in. Brock carried an unconscious Meloetta in his arms, and he made a bee-line for the front counter, ringing for Nurse Joy. His hands were red with drying blood, but it didn't belong to him, nor the injured Legendary. It took a moment for the frazzled caregiver to appear.

"Nurse Joy," he began seriously, "this Meloetta is in dire need of help."

Nurse Joy pressed her hands to her cheeks, clearly stressed.

"I already have so many Pokémon that I don't know if I could take another," she said, frantic.

"That's all right," Brock said quickly, improvising. "I'm a Pokémon Doctor in training. If I could just use the resources here, I could care for her myself, and I could help you out, too."

"Yes... Yes, OK, that would be fine," she said with a nod. "Come with me."

Misty jumped to her feet, watching as Brock jumped over the counter with the Legendary still in his arms, following the nurse into the back of the center.

"Brock!" she desperately called after him. "What happened?"

"Talk to Daisy and Tracey!" he yelled back before disappearing.

Misty spun back around to see that her sister and the watcher were trailing behind. She broke off from Violet and Lily, going to Daisy. Seeing that the blonde's mascara was running caused a pit to grow in Misty's stomach.

"Daisy, what happened?" Her fear translated to anger, which was laced into the tone of her voice.

Daisy began crying again. Salty, black droplets began streaming down her face.

"M-Misty! I'm so sorry! We showed up just as it happened! T-There was nothing I or anyone else could do..." she stammered through her tears.

Misty's throat tightened. Despite Daisy's vague answer, it was clear something had gone terribly wrong. The others quickly gathered around, also sensing that something was awry. The worst of it came, though, when they realized Tracey was holding Ash's Pikachu. The Electric-type wasn't in nearly as a bad a condition as Meloetta, but he was unconscious.

"Tracey," Delia began, her voice shaking. "Where's Ash?"

The Pokémon Watcher dreaded the question, but he was better prepared than his girlfriend.

"He's... he's at the hospital right now," Tracey answered tepidly. "T-They think he might have a traumatic brain injury, and they're assessing whether they need to perform surgery t-to try to repair or remove any damaged blood vessels or tissue. Arceus, Delia, I'm so sorry."

May started crying, too, and Dawn pressed her hands up to her mouth, horrified. A distant call for Tracey from Brock came from the back of center, and the watcher's bottom lip quivered before he went after him, leaving the others to deal with the shock.

* * *

"Oh Mew, oh Mew, oh Mew," Leaf uttered the phrase over and over as she pushed through nurses and other patrons at a hurried pace. In less than twenty minutes, she was already ignoring the doctor's orders to take it easy, but neither Gary nor his grandfather nor Cynthia were going to stop her (as if they could, anyway).

When she found him, Leaf grabbed Drew's arm and spun him around toward her.

"Did you hear what happened?" She was on the verge of a panic attack. "What—_how_ did it happen? Oh Mew."

"I don't—" Drew paused, swallowing. The male coordinator was visibly shaken, beyond what Leaf had ever seen out of him. "—I don't know. We just saw him come past here on the gurney, and the doctors, they were saying something about a possibly brain injury."

Leaf felt as though she might be sick.

"What about Silver?" she demanded. "Is Silver all right? Where is he?"

"I don't know anything about that, either." Drew shook his head.

"The boy with the silver eyes is fine," Brandon said as he strode toward the group. "To my knowledge, he's with Wallace, Steven, and Lance."

"Where?" Leaf asked.

"Outside," Brandon answered shortly.

Leaf took off in that direction, but this time, Gary did try to intervene.

"Leaf!" He quickly went after her, and they disappeared in the chaos. Their leave was marked by the arrival Paul, who had Reggie in tow. His injured arm was being supported by a royal blue sling.

"Maylene messaged Reggie that Ash might have a traumatic brain injury." The younger Veilstone trainer went straight for his father, identifying him as the best possible source of information. "What did he do?"

A crowd began to gather around the Pyramid King, all desiring the answer to the same question. Iris and Cilan were visibly having a difficult time keeping themselves together. Trip's skin was unnaturally pale, and his hands were pressed under his arms to prevent them from shaking. Many others—from Burgundy to Bianca to Stephan—were similarly horrified.

"Mewtwo tried to attack Silver, but Ash wouldn't let him," Brandon explained gravely. "He tackled Mewtwo, and they went over a cliff. It was quite a drop, though, and..."

Paul swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Where's Mewtwo, then?" he asked.

"Gone," Brandon replied. "The helmet broke at the bottom of the cliff, and he fled right after. Everyone was so concerned about rushing Ash to the hospital and taking Giovanni and the seven Team Rocket agents there into custody that no one went looking for him."

"Excuse me?" The circle of trainers was interrupted by a nurse. "I'm sorry, I'm going to have to ask you all to move out of here. We often have medical personnel coming through this area, and you're holding up traffic. I can move you into a more private waiting area, if that would be all right with you."

"Yes, yes, that would be excellent," Cilan spoke up on behalf of everyone. The nurse nodded and gestured for everyone to follow her.

* * *

Silver could barely think straight.

The elite arrived the moment Ash and Mewtwo went over the cliff. Then, several things seemed to happen at once: Mewtwo fled the scene; Giovanni was suddenly on the ground, Volkner and Flint having tackled him like they were quarterbacks; Lance was screaming at him, but Giovanni, the psychopath, smiled crookedly and began laughing; the other Rocket agents, including Jessie and James, were also taken down, either by a Pokémon or person; Brock's Steelix provided a slope for him and several others to go down the cliff and aid Ash.

Silver never did see Ash again. He could only remember Alder and his Druddigon taking off toward the bottom of the mountain, where they could meet an ambulance. Silver didn't see his father again, either. Giovanni and the other agents disappeared, and Silver heard among the cacophony of voices that Agent Adalet had been contacted and that the Opelucid City police would meet them to more formally arrest them.

"Kamon-" Lance had reached out and taken Silver by the arm, but the boy ripped away from him. Lance didn't seem bothered, and he said, "At least let us take you down into safety."

Under normal circumstances, Silver would have so kindly informed Lance he could take care of himself and that he didn't need to be under his thumb to be safe. But, Silver also realized it was now only through Lance that he could get what he wanted, so he agreed. Steven and Wallace tried to ask questions, of course, but he ignored them.

Besides, the spatter of blood on the jagged edge of a rock, presumably where Ash had hit his head on the way down, shook Silver so much that he wasn't in the mood for talking much.

Agent Adalet reconvened with Lance, Wallace, Steven outside the hospital. Silver stood behind the three Champions—the two current and one former—watching Adalet sullenly. He had not forgotten the way he had treated them that morning on the plane. In fact, Silver still had his wallet in his possession, and he briefly wondered if the agent had yet to notice it was missing. Probably not, since there were many more things to worry about than an absent wallet.

"Giovanni and the seven other Team Rocket agents are all now locked away at the police station," Adalet informed them.

"Are they going to escape, too?" Lance asked, and Adalet's lips tightened. Silver's eyes flicked toward the Indigo Champion, wondering if perhaps he was referring to the teens' not-so-grand escape that morning.

"They're under high security," Adalet replied.

"So were Butch and Cassidy," Lance pointed out. "Annie and Oakley broke them out, and that remains a concern."

Silver blinked. Butch and Cassidy? He was certain those were the two agents Leaf had hypnotized and sent away to Birch Town.

"'Remains a concern?'" Adalet inquired.

"Annie and Oakley are still out there somewhere," Steven explained. "We let them go, because we needed to focus on getting to Ash and Silver as soon as possible. Capturing them would have wasted too much time, and time is and was of the essence. If we had arrived any later, the consequences might have been severe."

"They already are severe," Adalet said.

"More severe, then." Steven changed the subject. "Are you aware of Ash's condition?"

"Possible traumatic brain injury," Adalet said, and Silver's blood ran cold. He supposed he shouldn't have expected anything less, but the news remained disturbing. He clenched his fists.

"Arceus," Wallace muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. Steven and Lance were equally unsettled. Wallace then added, "This was not supposed to end this way."

"I suppose that's a consequence of placing a 15-year-old child in charge of a serious mission," Adalet said caustically, looking straight at Lance. The Indigo Champion was about to fight back, but Adalet cut him off. "No, do not bring up the Hoenn base, and do not bring up the Sinnoh base, either. Leaf's actions have overall been disgraceful and a poor reflection on the organization."

"Erol, this is not your place to speak, and you know better," Steven admonished. Lance looked at the former Hoenn Champion with furrowed eyebrows, mildly surprised he was defending him. Then, he looked to Adalet. There was a sudden change in the agent's eyes, a change with which Lance was familiar, because he had seen it in Steven four years earlier. Silver, however, was focused on other matters.

"_The Hoenn base_?" He spoke up for the first time, and the four older men looked at him surprised, as if they had only just remembered he was there. Silver stared at them for a long moment, and he took a step back as the truth of the matter began to sink in.

"Silver!" The familiar voice rang in his ears, and Leaf arrived as though by cue. She stopped in front of him, pausing to catch her breath. "Silver, are you OK? Ash-"

Silver swiftly turned toward her with his eyes aflame.

"You're a liar," he vehemently spat at her, before she could get in another word. His sudden aggressiveness caught her off-guard, and she quickly grew defensive.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, put off by the negative label he'd flung across her, like red paint.

"The Hoenn base," Silver angrily pressed. "You tipped the G-Men off about the Hoenn base, didn't you? They didn't find it themselves."

Leaf straightened up with a sharp breath, confirming Silver's suspicions. Lance kept a close eye, deciding not to step in yet. He wanted to see how she would handle herself. Leaf's gaze flicked between her mentor and Silver, initially unsure of what to say. Then, she supposed there was no sense in hiding it, and she pressed her lips into a hard line.

"Silver," she began seriously, "your whole 'keep the G-Men out' clause was nothing short of ridiculous, and you know it, too. You're just so entrenched in your teenage conspiracy theories and anarchist train of thought that you don't care if the G-Men is actually good or not."

"Never mind that," Silver dismissed. "This is a matter of respect. We made a deal, and you broke that. You weren't even serious about it from the get-go. Do you realize how much grief I got from Paul and the others after our stint at the Sinnoh base? For not 'holding up my end' when you had?"

"I would've put an end to it if I wasn't bleeding and unconscious," Leaf retaliated.

"But you were," Silver fumed. "And going to such lengths to keep me and everyone else in the dark about your contact with the G-Men only reinforces what I've been saying all along. Arceus, Leaf, I feel sorry for you. Are you that dependent? Do you have that much of a lack of faith in yourself and what you're accomplishing? You said you joined the G-Men because you didn't want to be a nothing—and you_ are_ nothing, because you refuse to think otherwise."

"That's enough." Lance decided now was the time to intervene. "It's clear emotions are running high with Ash's condition. It is not necessary to take it out on each other."

Silver continued to glare at Leaf, who seemed a bit rattled by his words. He then snapped his head toward Lance.

"I'd like to see my father," he demanded suddenly.

"We can arrange for that," Lance agreed.

"Alone."

Lance seemed a little less willing, but he agreed to that, too.

"Very well," he gave in. He then turned to Wallace. "Wallace, I would like you to take Kamon here-"

"-Don't call me that," Silver hissed. He wasn't sure how Lance had figured out his birth name, but it became clear he was using it as a method to establish a sense of warmth, of familiarity with the boy. Silver was so dazed in the first instance that he let it slip, but he wouldn't allow it in the second.

"Apologies. Wallace, please take Silver down to the Opelucid City police station so that Silver may have a private moment with Giovanni." Lance then looked to Adalet. "Erol, please arrange a search for Annie and Oakley."

"What will you do?" Steven asked politely.

"Leaf and I need to have a talk," Lance replied.

Leaf looked at him, terrified. Silver watched her before glancing at Adalet, whose expression remained emotionless. Steven nodded in response and headed inside, likely to go find Cynthia. Agent Adalet returned to the car in which he had arrived, and Wallace gestured for Silver to follow them.

Lance then turned and headed in a different direction, expecting Leaf to come after him. At that moment, Gary reached the entrance of the hospital, her name on the tip of his tongue. He only made it halfway through the first vowel before he stopped, noticing who accompanied her. Lance didn't stop, but Leaf looked back briefly before shaking her head and hurrying after the Indigo Champion.

* * *

It didn't take long for those at the Pokémon Center to rush to the hospital, to meet with the others in waiting. There was an inkling of hope that there had been some terrible mistake, that Ash's injury wasn't as serious as Tracey made it sound. They were horrified to learn it was.

Professor Oak whisked Delia away, to somewhere more private than the communal waiting room, to save her and everyone else the intense grief that was sure to follow. There would have been nothing worse than watching a mother wring her hands nervously, counting the seconds and praying to whatever god there was that her son—her child, her flesh and blood, Chosen One or not—would be OK.

"Why would Mewtwo leave?" Misty asked, infuriated after Paul parroted the news his father had given him. "Why would he leave? After all Ash did for him—after all _we_ did for him? He just... just leaves? And lets us suffer the aftermath?"

Misty knew she, in part, wasn't being reasonable, but she didn't want to be reasonable. She wanted to blame someone, and Mewtwo was one of many easy targets.

"I don't know," Paul replied, frustrated. "I wasn't there."

"Well, where's Silver then?"

"With Wallace and Adalet," Gary answered, coming through the doorway. "I think they went down to the Opelucid City Police Station, maybe to talk to Giovanni."

The name alone elicited some visible, emotional reactions.

"His own father... his own father!" Zoey also seemed angry, but that didn't stop her voice from growing watery. "Did Giovanni ever even know? That Ash was his son? Did he even care? Would he have even cared?"

In that moment, the conversation came full circle. That night of December 24th, the day Ash found out Giovanni was his father, the same questions had been asked. More than two months later, they were no closer to an answer. The realization made the whole journey seem pointless. Despite everything they had learned and accomplished, the lack of an explanation made it all for naught. It was unfair.

Bianca sniffled, and Barry rubbed her back before wrapping an arm around her shoulder. It was also unfair to Stephan's clan, of which Bianca was a part. To feel joy at learning the fourteen were alive, only to have it crushed under the awful idea that perhaps Ash would die anyway was nothing short of terrible.

Hearing Zoey grow teary drudged up the worst feelings in Dawn. Watching Zoey cry never failed to make Dawn want to cry, too. It was a sign of how terrible the situation was; yet, it was also a sign of how close they had all grown, now that they were ready to fall apart. Leaf, Paul—their scrapes with danger, perhaps even death, had the same effect, but they busied themselves during those moments, coming together to save their comrade. There was nothing they could do for Ash.

"The plain reality is that blood doesn't automatically warrant love," Drew muttered. He held one of May's hands on his lap. She was using her other to wipe away the water from her eyes, and she had a good supply. Max might have teased them if he wasn't so busy crying himself. He desperately wished his parents would arrive now. Drew continued, "'Family' is really, really terrible to each other sometimes."

"That's an understatement," Trip scoffed, upset. Georgia's eyes flicked toward him, remembering the television report she had seen earlier. She wondered if he was at all aware of his parents' relationship.

"Well, it'll do us no good to talk about all this and worry ourselves around in circles until we get an update from the doctor," Ritchie commented. "Maybe we just need... a distraction."

The waiting room had a television mounted on the wall, and there was a remote on the table. Gary seemed to understand the gist of what Ritchie meant, and he retrieved the device. Georgia perked up.

"Wait..." she began tentatively, but he turned on the television anyway. The first station, of course, was the news.

"_For those of just joining us_," the anchor began, "_there is breaking news that the leader of Team Rocket, whose name has yet to be released, has been arrested in Opelucid City. There have also been unconfirmed sightings of some of the fourteen trainers who supposedly died in a bus crash on Christmas. This comes on the heels of the arrest of Jack McGonnigal, whose wife Emily McGonnigal said the fourteen were alive during a domestic dispute_-"

Cilan jumped up and snatched the remote out of Gary's hands, turning the television off again. It was too late, though. Trip had heard what had happened.

* * *

"No, no," Cynthia began, shaking her head. "Don't tell me what happened. I don't want to hear."

Steven's wife was speaking with Alder when he saw them outside the waiting room, where they could carry a slightly more private conversation. Cynthia hadn't meant it in the sense that she didn't care, or that was she angry and didn't want an excuse. Rather, she had simply reached her capacity for bad news.

"I understand," Alder said as Steven approached. Cynthia turned her head toward her husband, frowning.

"Is there something Lance needed of me?" she asked, already guessing her husband had recently been with the Indigo Champion.

"No," Steven answered. Even if there was, he would have lied and taken care of it for her. "Carry on."

Suddenly, the door to the waiting room swung open, and Trip stalked out, past the Champions. Cynthia reached her hand out toward him, but he was gone before she could say a word. Her face then fell into that same hand.

"Oh Emily..." she sighed.

Alder frowned.

"Don't worry yourself," he insisted. "I'll talk to him."

The Unova Champion went after the boy. Cynthia lifted her head, and Steven pressed a comforting hand to her shoulder.

* * *

Nearly every major Pokémon Center across the nation had a set of small conferences rooms, usually on the top floor, above the bedrooms. They were used for a variety of reasons: partner coordinators participating in double contests might meet there to plan appeals, trainers could use them if they needed a private place to strategize for their next big battle, while others possibly rented them to complete their online studies in peace.

For Lance and Leaf, it was a space where they could speak uninterrupted.

Leaf couldn't look her mentor in the eye, partially because of shame, partially because she was afraid. He had not said a word to her on their walk to the center, and the silence left a bad taste in Leaf's mouth. It meant one of two things: Either Lance was thinking, or he was _very_ angry.

He ushered her inside, and Leaf robotically stepped forward, until she stood in the middle of the room. The north side of the room was composed entirely of floor-length windows that took up the entire wall, providing a view of the city. She could see several broken rooftops and damaged buildings from Kyurem's earlier rampage.

Lance shut the door with a click. He then brushed past her, the edge of his cape catching her leg as he went by. He stopped at the table before turning to look at her.

"Sit."

Leaf quickly did so. Lance then sat across from her.

"Look at me," was his next order.

This was not so easy. She swallowed before slowly bringing her eyes up to his. She couldn't get a proper read on his expression, and that did nothing to assuage her anxiety.

"So," he began, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth, "you lied to Silver."

Leaf brushed a loose hair out of her face.

"Yeah." Her voice was small.

"So you could keep contact with the G-Men?"

"Yeah..." she said, now speaking in a half-whisper. A small question began to nag at her, but she brushed it off, believing now was not the proper time.

Lance leaned back into his chair, folding his arms.

"There's something on your mind," he said, and Leaf blinked, surprised he had noticed so quickly. "What is it?"

She hesitated.

"It's nothing."

"Leaf," he pressed. He wasn't going to let her escape his inquiries. Leaf cast her gaze down again.

"Um..." She licked her lips nervously. "How did Silver know? How did he find out?"

"He was clearly already suspicious about you," Lance answered plainly, "but Agent Adalet said some things he shouldn't have."

Leaf let out an annoyed breath.

"Figures," she said.

"Figures?"

Leaf hesitated again before explaining, "I think Adalet has it out for me."

"Oh, I know," Lance said, almost dismissively. "Don't worry about that. It won't be a problem in the future."

Leaf's bottom lip quivered. She could only assume what that meant. It wouldn't be a problem if she was no longer a part of the G-Men organization, of course. Leaf mentally began preparing herself. She didn't want to cry when Lance informed her he was cutting ties. There was an inkling of her that had hoped—_hoped_—that he had different intentions, since he called her his student earlier that morning. But perhaps that was just a force of habit. What reason would he have for keeping her around?

"I imagine Adalet won't be a part of the G-Men much longer," Lance finished, and Leaf couldn't believe what she had heard. She looked at him in confusion, unsure whether her mind had somehow warped that statement or if he had made a mistake.

"You're... you're going to fire him?" she asked.

"No." Lance shook his head. "Adalet is going to resign."

"Did he tell you that?"

"He doesn't have to," Lance replied simply. "Adalet has clearly reached the boiling point. He's finished with me and this organization. It's fine. I'm sure a local police force will find his abilities beneficial. He's certainly not the first to grow disillusioned with the G-Men and decide to leave."

Leaf took a moment to ponder that final statement. She couldn't be sure, but she thought he might have been referencing Steven. Lance never let Leaf fall too deep into the G-Men's politics, though, so she didn't know the full story behind Steven's decision to step down from the Championship seat.

Leaf took in a deep breath and closed her eyes.

"Well, I'm resigning, too," she declared suddenly. She decided it was better to take control, to rip the band-aid off herself.

Lance craned an eyebrow.

"What?"

"You heard me. I'm quitting."

An uncharacteristic laugh tore from his throat.

"No you're not," he said, still laughing.

His odd behavior struck a nerve with Leaf, and she demanded, "What? What's so funny? I'm serious. Is it because I've already been fired, and you're taking some kind of sadistic pleasure in my unhappiness?"

"No." Lance calmed down, and he more seriously asked, "Leaf, why would you quit?"

"To save you the trouble of firing me, and to lessen the emotional blow," Leaf answered.

"I'm not here to fire you."

"Right, I get it. Because you've already done it."

"I don't know what you mean."

Leaf was trying so hard not to get frustrated. It made her so angry at herself, because she didn't have the right to be upset with Lance. It was supposed to be the other way around. How dare she? How dare she get mad? Yet, Leaf couldn't seem to hold down her emotions. She didn't understand why Lance was prolonging this, why he was making it so hard on her.

Maybe because she deserved it.

"When we were all at the police station, after Adalet had us arrested," Leaf explained. "I put in a call to HQ at the Indigo Plateau, looking for a number. I wasn't in the system. I'm no longer on the employment roll."

"Mm." Lance seemed to remember something. "I see. You should know better, Leaf, than to make assumptions."

"Assumptions? What isn't there to assume? I'm off the employment role. That means I'm out of the G-Men."

"No," Lance corrected. "I did have you removed from the employment roll, but not for that reason. When it became apparent to Clair that you weren't going to Dragon's Den, I asked Adalet to remove your information from the database. I suspected there would come a point you would need to buy supplies, and if Giovanni got into our network—which he did, by the way—I didn't want him to know about it. It ended up being a good call on my part, because you purchased fourteen tickets to Hoenn several weeks later. Now, don't you think if I really wanted to cut you out of the G-Men, I would have had the credit card you carried deactivated?"

Leaf breathed in sharply. He had protected her. He had paved the way for her success, despite her clear insurgence.

"I don't... I don't understand..." she admitted. She really didn't. They had parted on rocky terms Christmas Eve, because Lance was irritated she had gone to the Shamouti Islands without his permission. He had implied he didn't trust her then.

The more Leaf thought about it, the more wholly confused she became. So, Lance wasn't firing her? But _why_? Suddenly, an important thought occurred to her.

"Arceus," she breathed. "Is Adalet quitting because of _me_?"

Lance raised his eyebrows.

"Yes." He didn't sugarcoat it.

"B-But that's not fair!" Leaf protested. "Adalet is one of your best agents, and he has every right to dislike me, because you... you..."

"I?" Lance inquired.

"You give me preferential treatment!" Leaf blurted, finally saying it out loud. "Gary was right from the beginning. I'm your favorite, and you sent me on this mission, despite the fact that it was actually a terrible idea. Adalet knew it. Gary knew it. You should have known it, too. I was so in over my head. I messed everything up. I should have listened, but I didn't, because I became so convinced Ash was the Chosen One, so convinced I was doing the right thing."

The tears started to come, and she couldn't stop them. Lance didn't blink.

"A-And now," Leaf stammered with a watery voice, "and now Ash is in the hospital, and he could die. If not, he could become disabled for the rest of his life. It's all my fault. I don't get it. Why are you keeping me? Why aren't you furious?"

Lance was silent for a long moment, thinking.

"I'm sure you remember," he began calmly, "me telling you that I wanted you at the helm of this journey for a very specific reason. I wouldn't explain why at the time, because I wanted to give you a chance to prove yourself."

"Don't tell me," Leaf mumbled weakly. "I don't deserve it."

"Well, that's debatable," Lance replied. "In the sense that you went against my order to take the fourteen to Dragon's Den, no, you don't deserve it. But it's more complicated than that. It isn't fair, but what I've found in the six years I've been in this seat is that things often aren't fair. Why am I keeping you?"

Leaf said nothing.

"Do you know what happens to kids with backstories like yours?" Lance's tone grew dark as he leaned across the table, toward her. "There are two options: Either they join Team Rocket, or someone steps up. It all depends on who gets there first."

Leaf again didn't respond, and a low growl emerged from the back of Lance's throat. He abruptly stood up, turning toward the window.

"Where do you think Paul Rebolledo would be if Reggie didn't cut his own journey and childhood short at 15-years-old so he could raise his little brother?" _Now_ he was beginning to sound angry. "Where do you think Drew Hayden would be if Solidad didn't, out of the goodness of her own heart, reach out and take him under her wing after his first contest? Where do you think Iris Ajagara would be if Drayden didn't pry her half-dead from between her parents' frozen bodies and take her to safety at the Village of Dragons?"

Leaf drew back. She had yet to stop crying.

"I didn't—I didn't know about any of that."

Lance watched her for a long moment. His expression was unusually soft, and Leaf didn't know what to make of it. The Indigo Champion then looked back out the window.

"You and those three I just mentioned—you're the lucky ones. The rest are people like Felly Rodriguez, who joined Team Rocket at 10-years-old because there was nothing else for her," he said, subdued.

"So I'm a charity case?" Leaf scoffed.

"No. You are _so much more _than that to me, Leaf Greene," Lance replied, genuine. "You think Reggie cares for Paul out of obligation? What about Solidad and Drew? I'll tell you that the answer is no. There is a very deep love there. A powerful, familial love that is not rational, that is not breakable; _storge_. That is why I keep you."

Leaf was speechless for a long moment. She took in a shaky breath before asking, "Why didn't you tell me this before? Why didn't you _show_ me this before?"

Lance shrugged.

"There are many reasons," he answered. "One, that expression of feeling is not my strength. It's not yours, either, might I add. Two, I don't think I fully grasped it until Cynthia told me that you were grievously injured. And then, when Domino told me she had been the one to hurt you... I thought I might rip her throat out of with my bare hands. Three..."

"Three ... ?" Leaf pressed.

Lance faced her again.

"This is information that is not to leave this room," he warned her, and she nodded. "Drayden fully intends Iris to replace Alder as the Unova Champion within the decade. She is not aware of this. Alder is, and he is supportive. The Championship title is no longer an accessible position of pageantry. It is a matter of great responsibility, and the burden is so heavy, that it will not be long before I step down."

Leaf's jaw dropped.

"You can't step down!" she protested. "You're Lance Grayson! The leader of the G-Men! And... and you're only 29! Who-"

"-I want you to take my place," Lance cut her off.

Leaf suddenly grew quiet, stunned.

"It won't be for several years," Lance went on. "Not until you're in your twenties. I imagine you and Iris will ascend into the seat around the same time, much like myself and Steven. I also believe Cynthia will be compelled to begin seeking out a replacement shortly, with a baby on the way. Wallace still has quite a few years on him."

"But I... but I..." Leaf could barely form a sentence. "But still, after Dragon's Den..."

Lance seemed to understand.

"Drayden once warned me," he began, "that I was making the same mistakes with you that he did me. I wanted you to be me. In many respects, you are me. I've now realized that I don't want that. I want you be better. But I'm not worried, because while you failed the question, you passed the test. You showed that you have something I don't, and that's heart."

"Heart? Heart?!" Leaf let out a bitter laugh. "What does that mean? You know yourself that I manipulated Silver, lied to him."

"I acknowledged there are ways that you are me," Lance responded with an ironic smile, "but you actually feel remorse. And you have people who trust you, admire you, and care about you. At least, that Gary Oak certainly seems to care about you." Leaf shifted uncomfortably. Lance continued, "Despite the messy situation with Silver, it's clear you're capable of making human connections if you managed to successfully lead a pack of volatile teenagers across more than a thousands miles of land and sea."

"But what about Ash?" she pleaded. "What if something happens to him?"

Lance was silent for a long moment. He didn't try to comfort her on this matter. He didn't try to shift away the blame or remove the sword hanging above her head. Yet, he still said:

"I knew long, long ago that I wanted you to inherit my seat, and I am set in my decisions. Still, whether you accept or not is ultimately up to you."

Leaf stood up, too, slowly backing away, until she stood at the tip of Lance's shadow.

* * *

Giovanni straightened up when the lock clicked and the door opened. His lips slid into an unnatural smirk, as he awaited the inevitable interview. He was understandably surprised when it was not Lance who appeared, but his own son.

"Well, you're not whom I was expecting," he said. His artificial smile transformed into a wicked grin. "How sweet. Come to visit your father? Miss me already?'

He kept the same cordial, though condescending tone as he spoke, and it unnerved Silver. He couldn't comprehend why his father was remaining so calm, so put-together, even in handcuffs. Had he finally snapped? Was it all an act? Or was he planning something? There was a part of Silver that hoped he would see his father break. This wasn't nearly as satisfying, and perhaps that was why Giovanni didn't let any of his insecurities shine through.

"Hardly," Silver answered coldly after shaking off his initial apprehension. He didn't sit. Giovanni couldn't stand, because he was chained to the chair.

"Then why did you come?"

Silver didn't reply for a long moment, mainly because he didn't have an answer. He couldn't find a concrete reason. His anger simply compelled him to be there.

"To ask what you meant when you said that you take youth seriously." The question passed through Silver's lips before he had fully thought it through.

"Just that," Giovanni replied simply.

"Why?"

"Because they are an untapped, unwavering source of incredible power," Giovanni answered, "and they are so malleable. Youth often lack critical thinking skills, but they make up for it in passion. If you get them hooked on an idea, they're unstoppable."

Silver breathed out. There it was. There was the reason Team Rocket had so successfully garnered such a large membership over the years. It picked the low-hanging fruits, the ones easiest to fool, and indoctrinated them with sweet, sweet ideals and offers, so they didn't mind that they were no longer attached to the tree.

"Of course, you always have to watch out for the smart ones," Giovanni continued. "Andrew Rogers, for instance. I wonder what ever happened to that boy?"

"Is that why you composed a list of sixteen young trainers to kill?" Silver muttered.

"I suppose so, yes." He didn't question why Silver knew about the list. "After the incident at Mt. Quena, a couple of my agents—_former_ agents—informed me how Ash might be a person of interest. The search for Mewtwo had only begun, so I asked them to keep an eye on the boy. In the years it took us to recapture him, Ash's inner circle had grown quite large. It had be taken care of. It wasn't, unfortunately."

Silver's lips tightened.

"What caused you to view youth, to view Ash Ketchum, as a serious threat?"

Giovanni didn't miss a beat.

"You."

Silver stared.

"Me?"

"Yes," Giovanni affirmed. "You don't think I didn't realize it was you who convinced Mewtwo to escape the first time? There was something you must have said, because his training had been going so well, and I felt as though he was finally beginning to trust me. Then the place blew up, and your mother died."

Silver gritted his teeth. Giovanni was pushing the blame off himself. He was trying to pin the guilt of Ariana's death onto him. Well, he wouldn't fall for that.

"Why spare me then?" Silver asked. "If I ruined so much for you, why not have me killed? Domino or Petrel would have gladly done it."

"Now what kind of man do you take me for, Kamon?" Giovanni feigned offense. "I could never kill my own son. I do love you, after all."

"I don't believe that," Silver scoffed.

"No?"

"No," Silver repeated. "I don't think you're capable of love. I think you're an uncaring sociopath. Any fatherly 'affection' you hold toward me was developed out of obligation, and it only happened because my mother died."

"Well, you're wrong." It wasn't accusatory. He simply stated it as fact, with a shrug of his shoulders. "It would haunt me if I learned my son died at my own hands."

_This_ was the opportunity Silver had so desperately wanted, but it didn't come without its repercussions. His fists clenched again, and his breath grew heavy with both fury and fear.

"In that case," he snarled, "I hope if, Arceus-forbid, Ash dies, that you will know about it. That someone will tell you, burn it into your chest. No, I don't hope. If Ash dies, I will work with the G-Men to ensure that you rot in jail for the rest of your life, so you can suffer that fact every minute of every hour of every day, until you vanish and become dust on the floor of your cell."

Giovanni appeared more estranged than unsettled.

"I don't follow," he said simply.

Silver let out a harsh laugh. For someone who was supposed to be an archetypal 'evil genius,' he was slow to understand this matter.

"Does the name Delia ring a bell?"

He only stayed long enough to watch his father's façade crack and crumble.

* * *

Trip broke down the moment he reached the bathroom.

He had wanted to cry for a while. In fact, there were perhaps a few times he had wanted to cry over the course of their journey, but he didn't, because he wanted to save himself the embarrassment. He was the youngest of the group. He was also the most inexperienced. He was even one of the smallest, beating out only May and Iris in height. Crying would only make it all worse. It would only make him more pathetic.

Yet, he gripped the edge of the sink as a tear dripped down the bridge of his nose and fell into the drain. Several more were soon to follow. The news that his mother had been beaten—and that _everyone_ knew it—in addition to the reality that Ash was potentially fighting for his life, was too much to handle.

Trip saw Alder enter the door behind him from the mirror's reflection, and he quickly used the heel of his palm to clear away the salty moisture on his face.

"What are you doing here?" Trip asked bitterly.

Alder didn't answer the question.

"You don't need to do that," the Champion said. "Crying is not mutually exclusive. Everyone cries sometimes. Even me."

Trip frowned. His perceptive words were something he needed to hear, but he still brushed away another tear from the corner of his eye.

"I was speaking with Cynthia earlier," Alder continued. "She contacted the Nuvema Town police, and they will be sending your mother here to meet you. She'll be here tomorrow."

Trip said nothing. Tomorrow was far away. A lot could happen before then. Ash could be dead before then. Trip shook his head, immediately pushing the thought out of his mind.

"Right..."

Alder sighed.

"I'm sure your friends are worried about you," he said.

"They have bigger things to worry about."

"Tristan—ah, Trip," Alder quickly corrected himself. Trip looked at him glumly, and Alder felt terribly guilty. Of all the times to slip up on names, this was perhaps the worst.

"It's all right," Trip muttered, looking back toward the mirror. "I'm used to being forgotten at this point."

The Nuvema trainer stood motionless for a moment before pushing himself off the sink and moving past the Champion. He didn't want to stick around in that bathroom much longer, with his former idol offering him pity.

"Thanks," he mumbed as he went by.

* * *

"Man... afta' all dat..." Meowth sighed, folding his arms. "Afta' decidin' ta be good... we get arrested 'nd thrown in here without anyone askin' for our side of de story."

Meowth sat beside James in the small cell, watching as Jessie paced around. It was certainly not their first time being in prison, but they had always been bailed or broken out by other Team Rocket agents. Now that they weren't in Team Rocket anymore—now that there was no Team Rocket—who was on their side?

"Don't worry, Meowth," James assured him. "I'm sure this will all be sorted out, once they hear what we did for the twerp."

"Yeah, they'll sort us into smaller, darker cells once they figure out _all_ of what we did for the twerp," Jessie scoffed.

"What if we have the twerp speakin' for us?" Meowth asked

"Don't count on it." Jessie shook her head. "That's all dependent on whether he's alive or not."

A sickening silence fell upon them. While they had no idea that Ash was being treated for a potential traumatic brain injury, they had seen the fall as well as anyone else.

Suddenly, the cell's door swung open, and there stood Silver, half-glaring at the trio. His mean stare gave them the impression they had done something wrong. They recognized the expression from their former boss.

"You saved Ash." Silver didn't elaborate, and he didn't enter through the doorway. He remained standing under the metal frame.

"We... we did," James agreed with a quick nod.

Silver frowned. Then, he swung the door more open and stepped out.

"Most of the police force's efforts are divided among either keeping Giovanni under close watch or searching for Oakley and Annie," Silver explained. "If you leave now, it will be a little while before someone notices you're gone. Say... fifteen or twenty minutes. You have that much time to get out, to disappear, and to make lives for yourselves."

* * *

Trip's hands were stuffed into his pockets as he morosely moved down the hallway, unsure of what he was doing or where he was going. He went to the bathroom to be alone, but Alder had followed him there. It would feel silly to try to find another bathroom, but he didn't want to go back to the waiting room, either. At the same time, he couldn't spend forever wandering the hospital. Eventually, a nurse would usher him elsewhere.

"Trip!"

The Nuvema trainer barely had time to turn around when May tackled him with a hug. He didn't know how to react at first. He wasn't a touchy person, and while May's contact felt... strange, he had no intention of pushing her away.

"Ah... sorry..." May leaned back to wipe her eyes. "We weren't sure where'd you had gone, and we were worried. Everyone's worried. I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but I just wanted to let you know I'm so sorry, and that I'm here for you. Drew's here for you, too."

When she mentioned him, Trip glanced over May's shoulder to see the green-haired coordinator lingering nearby. He was leaning up against the wall, waiting. His fingers were curled into the belt loops of his jeans, and he wore an understanding smile. Suddenly, Trip remembered Drew's offer to speak with him last night.

He wasn't forgotten after all.

"Thank you, May—Drew," he said. There was more he wanted to say, more for which he wanted to thank them. He didn't think they fully grasped just how much a seemingly simple gesture meant to him. They had sought him out. They carved out time for him, despite comparably larger issues, because he was significant to them. He was a part of their circle, too.

Yet, he didn't say anything more, because his voice choked when he tried to tell them all this. Suddenly, crying didn't seem so embarrassing when it was in the company of good friends. May wasn't judging, though. She embraced him again, pressing his face into her shoulder.

Drew wiped the bottom of his mouth with his thumb. Two months ago, he might have been a tad jealous. The affection May showed for her friends—for Ash—was something Drew didn't understand for so long, because he didn't have friends. He understood now, though, and it made him realize how lucky he was to have someone so wonderful in his life, when for so long, he didn't have anyone.

"Andrew."

The coordinator's breath caught.

_No._

The irony would have been too great.

There was no denying it, though. When he turned around, there was his father, Chris, standing behind him. It was the first time in years that the father had seen his son, and that the son had seen his father. Yet, Chris didn't reach out to embrace him, much less touch him, in the way May had in greeting Trip. It didn't matter anyway, because Drew wouldn't have let him.

May saw the confrontation from where she stood, and she pulled away from Trip with wide eyes. Drew and Chris were more alike in person than they were when comparing pictures or memories. Trip also glanced back, and he, too, was immediately able to make the connection.

"Why are you here?" Drew hissed

"I'd like to talk," Chris answered, unbothered by his son's uncharacteristic aggressiveness.

"Drew!" May called out to him. Drew ignored her; he couldn't tear his eyes away from his parent.

"Just ten minutes," Chris persisted.

* * *

Brock felt a sudden spell of queasiness fall over him when he washed the blood—Ash's blood—off his hands. As he watched the red slip down the drain, he felt an intense regret, almost a hatred, grow inside himself. He blamed himself. Perhaps there was so much that could have been prevented, that could have been saved, if he had chosen to go with Ash on the bus on Christmas evening.

The whole story would have been different.

He couldn't dwell in self-loathing long. He was an aspiring professional, and he had to be better. He turned his attention to Meloetta, who laid sprawled, unconscious, on the silver table. Pikachu was resting on another table, and Brock could let him be for now. Tracey had gone back with Daisy to the hospital, since the Electric-type was in less dire condition. Leaving him to sleep would not threaten his life.

Brock picked up a Super Potion and began spraying the medicine onto Meloetta, gently rubbing it into her skin. He continued tending for the Legendary for perhaps twenty minutes, getting into his element, when a voice interrupted him.

"Brock?"

The former breeder glanced up to see Misty standing rigidly in the doorway. He frowned sadly and stood up a little straighter.

"Misty... Misty, I can't... I can't be..." He meant to say he couldn't be an emotional support. It was something at which he was excellent—helping others find comfort—and he had often done so with Ash, Misty, May, Max, and Dawn. Yet, he had no support to give, because he, himself was in shambles.

"I know," Misty said, knowing the end to his statement. "I'm not here for that. I want to help."

"Help?"

"I couldn't stand being in that hospital a moment longer. I had to get out," Misty explained, shaking her head. "I just... I couldn't stand by idly any more. I need something to take my mind off it."

Brock nodded understandingly.

"Well, there's a supply of Super Potions under the cabinet, if you want to get to work on Pikachu."

Misty agreed and retrieved one of the potions. The moment she touched Pikachu, however, he awakened in a panic. The last he could remember was his beloved trainer, his best friend, heading over the cliff with Mewtwo. He passed out as Brock and Tracey retrieved him and Meloetta, and now he could sense something was terribly, terribly wrong with Ash. He began to thrash about.

"Pikachu! Pikachu!" Misty gently picked the Mouse Pokémon up, fully expecting for him to shock her. He didn't. Instead, the loyal partner of Ash Ketchum began to wail in the most heartwrenching way. Only the short hiccups of "Pika" interrupted his lamentations. Misty thought she might begin crying herself as she held him to her.

There were no distractions from reality.

* * *

The hospital's cafeteria was near empty, but Chris picked the most secluded spot where he could sit down with his son. Chris offered to buy Drew some lunch, but he refused. Food was a way of tying him down, a way of extending the ten minutes Drew promised he would give.

"You still haven't answered my question," Drew mumbled, kicking off the conversation.

"That is?"

"Why are you here?"

"Andrew, I've been under the impression you've been dead for months," Chris answered simply. "On the news, I heard you were alive. I simply had to see you."

"Why?" Drew pressed.

Chris was silent for a long moment, noting the way his son stared him down with an intensity unlike the father had ever seen before. Of course, the last time Chris saw Drew was when he was 10, a mere child. He was 15 now, well on his way to adulthood. The years apart had visibly caused the disdain Drew held against his only living parent to fester.

"To express..." Chris began slowly, "... my utter regret for the terms on which you left and to ask for your forgiveness."

Drew looked doubtful.

"I have stewed in remorse since you left," Chris continued. "I have relived that night—that moment—many, many times. It's haunted me."

"Yeah," Drew muttered. "Me too."

The young male coordinator's anger, though subdued, was still noticeable. Did his father expect him to sympathize? No, it wouldn't happen, unless his father admitted to being so plagued by fear that he had to, on the more difficult nights, resort to powerful sleep aids. And what about the social contrition Drew was so scared he faced that he didn't let anyone, save May and Solidad, get too close?

"I'd like to offer you an explanation," Chris said, like it was a business proposal.

"Well, you still have six minutes left, so have at it."

Chris looked a little put off that Drew was sticking to the ten minute remark.

"You were never there to see the aftermath of Giovanni's and my deal," Chris went on. "I... I did accept."

"Tell me something I don't know."

"I did it for your benefit."

Drew stared. _That_ he did not expect.

"_What_?"

"I only made the deal because I desired to protect you," Chris explained. "Giovanni is a brilliant, though ruthless man. I feared what he would do to you. I felt by signing the contract, we were making an agreement that he would leave you be. Of course, you left, and it didn't matter. I didn't reach out to you—I didn't seek after you—because I felt you would be safe that way."

Drew, for a fleeting moment, was tempted to believe him. After all, his father could be very smooth with his words, not unlike himself, and the idea that his distant parent had done it all to save him was appealing in its own right.

Unfortunately, Drew had also inherited his father's intelligence, and there was a missing detail that suddenly stood out to him.

"Wait a minute," he said. "There's something I don't understand. The G-Men arrested you. How are you here?"

Chris was mildly confused, unsure how his son had learned of his arrest and why he had brought up such a topic.

"They released me this morning," Chris replied truthfully. "They never charged me, and the 30-day limit ran out."

Drew furrowed his eyebrows.

"That... doesn't make sense, though," he said. "The flight to Opelucid City is several hours long. The news that I and the thirteen other trainers are alive and here is breaking. How would you have known to come? How would you..." His stopped, his jaw tightening "... unless seeing me wasn't your original intention in going to Opelucid."

Chris said nothing, surprised that Drew had deduced such.

"You came for Giovanni," Drew accused. "I'm just a detour."

"That's not true," Chris protested, but Drew wouldn't listen.

"Oh Mew," the teen breathed. "How... You're still working with him? You're still his partner?"

"Andrew, I said I agreed only to protect-"

"-No," Drew cut him off. "That excuse has a limited warranty. I know for a fact it does, because Project Legendary—yeah, I know its name—" Drew interjected that extra comment when he was Chris's expression. "—stopped for a time. It stopped after Mewtwo escaped. When it began again, you would have had to start funding it a second time, out of your own accord, without me in the equation."

"I..." Chris shook his head. "Oh, I see. This must be about the Johto Grand Festival."

Now Drew looked confused.

"What are you talking about?" he demanded.

"The Johto Grand Festival," Chris repeated. "I was the sponsor who pulled funds from it, which put it on hold. I understand how upsetting it must be that you missed it."

Drew stared at him for a moment, stupefied.

"I couldn't care less about the Grand Festival," he said. "I'm talking about this... this... this whole thing!" The anger he'd kept under lock and key suddenly broke loose. "Moltres, Mewtwo, Kyurem... the control technology from Meloetta... that was all you, wasn't it? That was all _your_ funding. The trouble we went thorugh... and Ash. Oh Mew, _Ash_."

"Andrew, who's Ash?"

"A good friend," Drew spat, "who might be in serious trouble, thanks to you."

He abruptly stood.

"Your ten minutes are up," he finished. He then hurried out, before Chris could so much as get in another word.

* * *

Misty had not intended to run into Delia and Professor Oak on her trip back to the nearby hospital. She had managed to tend to some of the Electric-type's physical wounds, but the emotional—well, there was nothing she could do about those. Once Brock deemed Pikachu was in an acceptable condition, Misty obliged to the Mouse Pokémon's desperate requests to take him the hospital.

The Cerulean Gym Leader didn't quite understand the hurry. She told Pikachu over and over that she couldn't take him to see Ash, because the doctors were with him. Pikachu didn't seem to care, and Misty decided not to fight him anymore. Pokémon had a way of understanding things humans didn't, and the connections they had with their trainers transcended reason.

Delia had clearly been doing a lot of crying, and Professor Oak was doing his best to reassure her. Misty planned on passing them by, on leaving them be—after all, she felt it would have been terribly awkward to intrude—but then the doctor came seeking out the disconsolate mother, and Pikachu became rabidly determined to see them. He jumped out of her arms and headed straight toward the trio of adults.

"So sorry! So sorry!" Misty said, running to scoop the Electric-type back up. The doctor's lips tightened.

"Miss, I'm going to have to ask you place your Pikachu back into its Pokéball," he said. "Pokémon are not allowed to wander human hospitals freely."

"Pardon, Dr. Dansforth, but this is the Pikachu that belongs to Ash," Professor Oak clarified.

"Yes, he's just worried," Misty excused.

"Are you his sister?" Dansforth asked.

"No." Misty gave him an odd look.

"Then I'm going to ask that you-"

"-She can stay," Delia sniffled. "She's a very close friend of Ash. Just... please, tell us about him. Is he alive?"

The brief hesitation the doctor showed cast a brief, intense terror on Misty, but it was a false alarm.

"Yes. We are confident your son will pull through alive, Ms. Ketchum," Dansforth said, and relief washed over Misty, Delia, and the professor—but it was short-lived. "However, we are still not sure how severe the damage to his brain may be, if there's any. We have placed an intracranial pressure device into his skull to monitor him."

"To monitor him? What does that mean, exactly? What's going to happen to him?" Delia grew frantic again.

"Simply put, Ms. Ketchum, your son is nonresponsive," Dansforth said. "We cannot properly assess the damage in his state. The results of traumatic brain injuries are widely varied, from mild memory loss, to physical and/or cognitive disability, to death. As I've said before, though, we are confident Ash will live. Yet, if we cannot get him to respond in a six-hour time frame, he will be medically considered comatose."

Delia's legs shook as she sat back down, beginning to cry once more. Misty felt weak in the knees, too. She wondered what would have been worse: a dead Ash or a fundamentally different one, a shell of his former self? She had yet to ask herself the morbid question, because she had been avoiding it all afternoon. Pikachu folded his ears and whined, upset. He then glanced up at Misty, his eyes pleading. She immediately understood.

"Dr. Dansforth," Misty began, "would it... be at all possible for Pikachu to stay with Ash?"

"That's generally against hospital protocol. Pokémon have a tendency to get in the way of nurses, and they can be dangerous creatures. If Pikachu were to shock Ash, it could be fatal."

"Please," Misty begged. "He's so small, and he takes up so little space. He can stay at the foot of the bed, and he won't bother anyone. Right, Pikachu?"

"Pika Pikachu!" the Electric-type added his own plea.

Dr. Dansforth still seemed unwilling to relent, until Delia chirped in.

"It will... it will mean the world to Ash if Pikachu is there beside him when he wakes up," she said, teary-eyed.

'Will.' He had to wake up for her. There was no other option. She wouldn't accept it, even if she had to delude herself into a false belief.

"All right," Dansforth gave in with a sigh. "Follow me."

* * *

The reunion between May and her parents was not as heartwarming as perhaps they had hoped. Hugs and kisses were exchanged, of course, but May was too distraught to appreciate them, and Norman and Caroline soon came to find out why. The update on Ash's condition had reached the main group, but it did little to ease their anxieties.

There were other people than just Ash on her mind, though. May had not said anything of Chris's arrival, knowing it was still a personal matter to her rival. Her father's arm was around her, while Caroline's had Max pressed close to her. Ash was a good friend to their children, and they realized the terrible impact of the situation.

Trip had kept quiet about Drew, too. He was quick to shift his focus from one trouble to another—from Ash, to his mother, to Drew, back to Ash. To do otherwise would be overwhelming.

The door opened, and in came Solidad with Harley in tow.

"May, sweetheart," she said, her voice chock full of concern. "Word about Ash reached us with Kyurem, and I came as soon as I could. Are you OK? Where's Drew?"

May frowned.

"He's... he's with... in the cafeteria..." She didn't know what to say. She wasn't sure how much Solidad knew of Drew's private life, if anything.

Caroline looked at her daughter with worry in her eyes, not understanding what was happening.

Yet, Solidad could read May's expression well, and her intuition told her he was 'with' Chris. It was a wild guess, and for a moment, she dismissed it as unlikely. Last time she had heard of Chris, he was still in prison at the hands of the G-Men. But, that had been several weeks ago, and Lance had said they ere struggling to charge him...

Her 'wild guesses,' however, had a peculiar way of being spot on. She turned and headed back out the door, before she had even spent a minute in the waiting room.

"Sol!" Harley called after her, confused. He still had Kyurem's control device in his arms. Despite his Wigglytuff's valiant efforts, they had not been able to destroy it, and he sought after Solidad so she could give it a try. He ran into her on her way to the hospital, and she told him all she knew.

She didn't respond, though, as she disappeared around the corner. She read the signs directing her toward the cafeteria, but it wasn't long before she almost literally ran into Drew around another corner. He seemed abnormally upset, and with good reason.

"Drew, what happened?" she asked.

"Solidad..." He shook his head. "No, no. I can't. I'm sorry. I can't talk right now."

He tried to leave, but she pulled him back by the arm.

"Is your father here?" she asked.

He appeared surprised, unsure of how she had known, whether May had told her, or if she had figured it out herself. Knowing Solidad, both were viable possibilities.

"He... he..."

"What did he tell you?" she asked, though she had a feeling she already knew the answer.

"Nothing." Drew yanked his arm back, breaking her gentle grip. He wanted to leave again, but he realized he couldn't go back to the waiting room. He couldn't face his companions, now that the guilt weighed so heavily on him. He thought, with May's help, he was starting to get over the intense secondhand regret he carried from his father's actions, but they had doubled twofold.

Still, he began to walk away, though he had no destination in mind.

"Drew, don't shut me out!" Solidad called to him.

He whipped his head back toward her.

"Arceus, Solidad, just leave me alone," he lashed out at her. "You're not my mom."

Solidad fell back, flinching, as though she had been slapped across the face. There was a flash of guilt in Drew's eyes, but he continued on his way.

While he often knew exactly what needed to be said to convince, or motivate, or inspire someone, he also knew how to tear that same person down with his words. And he had hit Solidad where it hurt most.

* * *

There was something very disturbing about seeing Ash lie completely motionless on a hospital bed, hooked up to an IV and varying monitoring devices, one of which Misty was sure was keeping track of brain activity. He was pretty roughed up, and his messy, black locks poked through the bandages around his head. Any blood that had resulted from his head injury had been cleaned off.

Pikachu jumped from Misty's shoulder to Ash's bed, rubbing his head against his trainer's upper arm. The nurse who had been attending to him had to step out on an unrelated matter, so there was no one to chastise the Electric-type and force him to stay by Ash's feet, as per the terms for which Misty and Delia had bargained.

Misty turned to leave, sickened by the sight of her potentially comatose friend and knowing that she wasn't allowed to stay. Yet, she realized the absence of the nurse presented her with a unique opportunity, and, swallowing the taste of bile in her mouth, turned back around.

"Ash," she said, her voice shaking. "I hope you realize that there are a lot of people pulling for you,"

Of course, he didn't reply. The room hung in silence, punctuated only by the beeping of the heart monitor.

Misty had read stories of people who were in Ash's situation, who were unresponsive, and how, after they woke up, they told their loved ones that they could hear them speak words of encouragement to them, even if they couldn't respond.

Ash needed to know. Ash needed to know how many people loved and cared about him. She had offered these same reassurances Christmas Eve, and she would do it again.

"I still don't think you completely understand how much of an impact your existence has had on so many others," she continued. "Forget you being the Chosen One; that doesn't matter anymore. I'm not sure it ever did. We need you here as our friend. _I_ need you here as my friend."

Still, nothing. Pikachu looked at Misty sadly.

"You and I, we've seen so many stories unfold," she went on, "that we've barely had time to focus on ours. I'm not ready for the story to end. There needs to be another chapter for _us_."

Misty wasn't sure what motivated her to do what happened next. She simply did it, because she felt helpless to do anything more. She leaned over the railing of the bed and pecked him very gently on the lips. It was short, sweet, but it carried a lot of feeling, beyond the own affection she held toward him. The love in it belonged to everyone—to his mother, to Brock, to Gary, to May, to Dawn, to Paul, to Cilan, and to many, many other people. Misty was simply the messenger.

The redhead pulled away, brushed away a tear, and left without another word.

When the door closed, Pikachu sighed and curled up beside his trainer. Then, there was a knock at the window.

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_A/N: So, I have a confession to make. My college semester began about three weeks ago, and I have been overwhelmed trying to balance writing this story with my classes, jobs, and internship. So I'm going to dial down the rate at which I've been publishing regular chapters just a touch, because I need to catch up. Next Friday, instead of a regular 10,000-word-plus chapter, I will publish a third short special. The final regular chapter will go up the following week. Two Fridays after that, I will post the epilogue._

_I'm very sorry for any disappointment associated with this change. Thank you so much for your support thus far, and I hope you enjoy these final few chapters!_

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